01.11.2025—02.11.2025
IKPIRIKPI – The warrior within
Workshop
with Nadine Freisleben, Micheal Chijioke Ejinkeonye
with Nadine Freisleben, Micheal Chijioke Ejinkeonye
Venue:
Kreuzberg 1
Möckernstr. 68
10965 Berlin
Möckernstr. 68
10965 Berlin
Dates:
Info:
Level: with movement experience
in English
Price: 140/110€*
in English
Price: 140/110€*
Description
Between ritual and presence – the Ohafia Warrior Dance in a contemporary context Tradition meets contemporary: in this dance workshop, Michael Ejinkeonye (dancer and cultural mediator from Nigeria) and Nadine Freisleben (contemporary dancer and choreographer) combine the powerful Ohafia Warrior Dance with modern bodywork. The Ohafia Dance (Ikpirikpi Ogu) is deeply rooted in the history and identity of the Ohafia people in Nigeria. It celebrates courage, resilience, and physical presence—embodied through powerful gestures, rhythmic patterns, and ritual dynamics. Michael Ejinkeonye conveys its traditional elements, embedded in cultural context, oral history, and the Ohafia's self-image as a warrior community. In the second part of the workshop, Nadine Freisleben invites participants to activate their own strength through precise movement and conscious body control. Targeted training of the spine, spatial awareness, and movement control creates a powerful and fluid flow of movement. The joint workshop opens up a space for experience between ritual and contemporary improvisation—in which a new physical and cultural language can emerge.
Biographies
Nadine Freisleben
Nadine Freisleben is a choreographer, performer, and production manager for the free performing arts. She was trained in Lagos (NG) at the National Council for Arts and Culture in African dance, with a focus on Nigerian contemporary styles and danced and choreographed there between 2008 and 2010, for various Nigerian contemporary dance companies. She participated as a dancer and choreographer in festivals of Goethe Institute (Trufesta, organizer among others Adedayo Liadi) and Alliance Francaise (Danse meets Dance, organizer among others Bimbo Obafunwa). After graduating in 2015 at the Etage Berlin, she worked with choreographers such as Chaim Gebber (Chaim Gebber Open Scene), Sarah Bleasdale (INNERMEN) and Christine Fricker (Cie. Itinérrances). Her own works have been shown in France (Faites de la danse, Marseille), Portugal (Tempstudio Lisbon), Nigeria (Afrigansa, Goethe Institut/Trufesta, Alliance Francaise/ Dance meets Danse, etc, Lagos), Chile (Centro MB2 para la Experimentacion de las Artes, Arica), Germany (Tanzherbst Kempten, kulturelle Landpartie Gorleben, AMS Camp St. Georgen, etc). Since 2021 she runs her own production company for freelance artists "Apricot Productions" together with Angela Fegers.
Micheal Chijioke Ejinkeonye
Micheal Chijioke Ejinkeonye is a Nigerian dance teacher, choreographer, and entertainment producer. He began his career in 1995 on the streets of Lagos, later training at Black Marbles Dance Academy, National Arts Theatre, under Muyiwa Oshinaike (2000–2003). In 2003, he founded Ntoroso Odido Productions, which has made a lasting impact on the performing arts in Nigeria and across Africa. His company has performed at major festivals, including Pan African Festival Ghana (Panafest), Dance Meet Danse Nigeria, Black Heritage Festival, Fidap Hwenusu Festival Benin Republic, Afrika Festival Tübingen (Germany), Kemptener TANZherbst (Germany), and MASA Festival Abidjan. Since 2009, Micheal has also served as a guest dance teacher at KARI.TANZHAUS in Kempten, Germany, where he continues to share his expertise and inspire dancers internationally.