Monday 22 April 2013

The Krump Studios; Dance in Abuja


There isn’t a week that goes by that we are not excited about bringing you fresh personalities to share stories of their small business that are sending out BIG STATEMENTS! This we hope will encourage more young people to start somewhere, great things start small.We love small businesses but more so we love people who are young and determined to make a difference in Nigeria. 

Dance is still very fresh in Nigeria; There are several dance companies like Spirit Of David GDC, Faith Bond, Fiber Art, Sons of Liberty, Space unlimited, DNMT, Society for the Performing Arts-SPAN (dance Department), Bailamos Dance company, Lovette’s BITS Dance Company, IMAGNETO, I-xtreme ……….. The list goes on and on.
Mima
We are glad that the dance is becoming an integral part of the entertainment industry in Nigeria and great dance television shows have brought the art to life.
Television shows such as; Malta Guinness Street dance, Celebrity Take 2, Maltina Dance All, Let’s Dance Nigeria…………… the list goes on.
Enough said about the thriving dance society; let’s meet one lady that is becoming a dynamo in this industry.
Meet Angulu Jemima, Talatu also known as Mima. She was born on the 23rd of August 1983.
Mima’s hobbies are dancing, watching movies, researching and surfing the internet. This looks to me like someone else who made a career from a hobby! That’s awesome!

A little about Mima:
Hmm don’t know where to begin; Mima is the last child in her family and from Niger state. Her mom was Itsekiri so she is part from delta state too . she had this to tell us; I spent my younger years in Lagos and I studied Land surveying in Ahmadu Bello University. She is a very passionate and driven person, quite simple and she says she never seems to want what everyone wants; a great believer in hard work and an admirer of people with strength and creativity. 
She has danced virtually all her life.
                            
Mima please tell us what sparked up your interest in this business?
Passion! I am extremely passionate about dance and I grew up wishing I could study dance in my own country, Nigeria. My dreams were always about Nigeria not anywhere else and I didn’t have all the resources I needed to go abroad.When I was younger there wasn’t a single dance school here in the country and that made me sad and I had to seek more knowledge on my own. I started communicating with every dancer I could find outside the country, also reaching and connecting with dancers in Nigeria. As I found more people like me out there I wanted to give all the knowledge I found and keep searching for more. My driven nature led me to dream more about enabling people like me that wanted to dance professionally but had no means to.  At each stage of my life I kept on growing in experience and knowledge through teams I founded, information gathered and workshops attended, it just never stopped.
 
How did you start (start-up money/ investor?)
I started by looking for a place to teach what I knew and that lead my to collaboration where I got a space in return for share of profits made.From then on every amount gotten was used to grow from one stage to another (reinvested) until I got the opportunity to expand with the collaboration of another investor.
                           

What are the challenges you faced and facing?
The industry I operate in is still quite fresh so most of the challenges faced are in acquiring skilled employees and setting standard code of operations in this particular business for our environment and also in the areas of letting our viewers and consumers to appreciate the value of our services in the areas of pricing and technicalities (cost price of job execution). Other challenges faced Power Outage and the scarcity of resource materials and gear e.t.c

Do you teach/ offer trainings to people to get into this business as well?
Participants with guest instructors at Krump Studio dance workshop
I train and teach the people as I can through mentoring. We also have a dancers' training department at the studio for skill acquisition and we partner with certified instructors and dancers round the world to train dancers. It is my desire to aid the development of the dance industry here Nigeria;There are things are already in the pipeline to do so.

What is your unique selling point?
Our unique selling point is our creativity, flexibility and our excellence/quality delivery approach. This is necessary in the industry.

What advice do you have for people that will want to get on the train of your business?
For anyone that wants to go into my line of business I would say reach far and wide, Train in details, Know exactly what you want, be creative and set high standards; The industry is new and we’ve got a lot of what to do and we do not want to set a standard of mediocrity in the industry. .This is a very good place to be.
 
Krump Studio Corporate Fitness classes
Lastly anything in the plans or works:
There are a lot! We are kicking out our first production courtesy the theatre and entertainment of The Krump Dance Studio “Speaking feet and its bound to employ an average of 40 dancers regularly as well as create a different angle towards the entertainment industry in Nigeria through dance.We are also working on future expansion (More studios outlets) in the coming year.
We are passionate about job creation for dancers and creative content through dance for different purposes.


KRUMP STUDIO Address:
-2nd floor wing B,Arewa Specialist Hospital Jabi, opposite Jabi lake, Jabi,Abuja 
FB: http://www.facebook.com/groups/Thekrumpdancestudio
Twitter: 

Monday 15 April 2013

MUSIC? My journey from Hobby to Career!


Name: Olaitan Kehinde Dada

Hobbies: Travelling, Singing and watching Football

A lil about myself?:  Well, I'm a grad of computer science from Olabisi Onabanjo University.I'm presently a music producer /Sound engineer. Worked with Cobhams Asuquo for about 3.5yrs as his sound/mixing engr. 
I have worked with a lot of Nigerian artistes which include: M.I, Waje, Omawunmi, Dare, 9ice, Asa, Segun Obe, Timi Dakolo, Ego, Chidinma, Tosin Martins, Wierd MC,  Gaize,  Djinee, Banky W and others. Also sing with a group called "In His Image"

What did I do before going into music full time: People wonder if I went from school to studio or studio to school, all I know is I have always been in the studio. I served with Diamond bank during my Corps days but still worked with Cobhams before setting up Natialo productions full time.

What are my popular works? Ok, here goes, I have worked on these works in different capacities either as a mix engineer, producer or Singer
1. Gaize (Awa o tush o)- Producer
2. Maltina Advert - Jingle singer
3.Omawunmi (If you ask me)- Mix Engineer
4.Chidima (Kedike)
5.Banky W (Strong tin)
6. Omawunmi (I go go)
7. Omawunmi ft 2face (Wata bang bang)
8. Chidinma (Jankoliko)
9. Banky W (Sisi Eko)
10. Microsoft (Maga no need pay)
11. Kore ft In-His-Image (Halleluyah- Producer
..............just to mention a few.

What sparked up my interest in my present biz: Well, I have always loved music, but I couldn't play any instruments so it was hard for me to express myself except through my voice. One day, my friend introduced me to fruity loops and that changed my life, I found out I could actually produce with just a mouse and keyboard. The rest is history!

How did I start? :Wow! Well, I got a computer while in school and initially, I produced for free, as time went by I started charging about 1000naira per song. Then I got enough money to buy a headphone-mic combo (the type used by operators) . That was back in 2004. I never got an investor, but I found favour in the eyes of the greatest investor of all...GOD. He led me all d way, through my grooming days at camp (Cobhams studio) till date
Challenges:  Wow. I faced a lot of challenges when I started. In this industry, you need to prove yourself before you're accepted. You need to show that you have something special, that's hard to find....because it’s a saturated industry. Everyone thinks they can sing or become a star. Everyone also believes that once they can play the keyboard, they're producers.....So you see, it’s a saturated industry and I had to prove myself (with favor) for me to stand out

Do I train upcoming artist in my field? : I'm running through the logistics of Organizing a training course at the moment. It'll be ready soon.

My Unique selling point: I'm a one-stop shop. I can sing, write songs, produce, mix and I have a studio. Once u get in you know you're going to leave complete.

 Advice: Don't join the crowd. Be different, but strive for excellence. You can't go wrong if you are diligent and strive for excellence.

What do you do to pass time? I watch movies and play FIFA soccer game

Contact Details
Natialo Studios
20, Alade Avenue Street, off Obafemi Awolowo way, Ikeja

Saturday 6 April 2013

Reaching Hearts, Touching Lives, Making Big Statements


In my life time I have come across many people who claim to give and serve the community but there is this woman that has blown my mind. I had the opportunity to visit a school (with her ) with the most enthusiastic children in Lagos, and saw the joy on their faces as they handed ‘goodies’.
I love when I see people who make a difference in other people’s lives. Not many people will consistently do this and not feel tired.
Please meet Funke Sodade. A woman of great value,simply beautiful inside and out, wife, mother and many good things rolled inone. This edition we talk about her and her Hapas Wellness Company. 

Hapas wellness Company was founded by FunkeSodade.  She is a Physiotherapist by profession (with a Distinction) from the University of Ibadan with over 8 years’experience in Wellness and Health Promotion. She specializes in Medical Rehabilitation through Exercise and MovementTherapy and has both trained and worked with several organizations in Nigeria and South Africa. Funke Sodade is the Chief Consultant for Hapas WellnessCompany.  She is recently  completed a Master of Science degree inHealth Education at the University of Lagos, where her project  work was awarded best Post-graduate Research in the Faculty of Education, University of Lagos during the 2012 Golden Jubilee Research Conference and Fair. Funke loves children and is passionate about helping them.
She started an initiative called Meals4all to carter for children to have a healthier lifestyle.
MealsForAll is in collaboration with the Somolu LocalGovernment Education Authority. In a bid to improve nutrition among school children, free  meals with milk were given out to students of selected public primary schools in Somolu Local Government Area of Lagos State in the 2ndterm of the 2012/2013 school session. The Schools are Bashua Military PrimarySchool, Jehovah Shalom Primary School, St. Peter Primary School, St. PaulPrimary School, St Augustine Primary School and Okemeta Primary School. 
The adequately nutritious meals are high-energy and protein- rich to provide the much needed nutrients required for proper growthamong school-age children. The children are fed daily over a period of time and their health is monitored over same period. Once she fed children in three schools for three months! The initiative which is powered by Plycon Limited, is also supported by Funfactory, Ore-Ola Trading Services, The Elevation Church, DM2 Advertising, Deefrent Communications and other well-meaning individuals,  who have given  one-off cash donations as well as in-kind donations!
Hapas Wellness aims to invest in human capital through nutrition, health and education.

PLYCON Limited, one of MealsForAll biggest Partners
Mrs Funke Sodade, the Project Director, is an advocate for human development as a key to social and economic empowerment.
As an initiative of Hapas Wellness, MealsForAll aims to provide support for the alleviation of hunger and malnutrition. They started giving out free school meals in 2012 and pioneered a research work titled ‘Nutritional Intervention As Correlates ofCognitive Function In School Age Children In Somolu Local Government Area ofLagos State’
Children are at the greatest risk for hunger and malnutrition and science has established a definite relationship between nutrition, learning and cognitive development. Simply put, it is more difficult for children to learn without adequate food and nutrition.
Hapas Wellness Company, a Wellness and HumanPerformance organization with the goals to:
Empowerpeople to be agents of change in their environment and be responsible for theirown health.
Designsustainable Health Promotion and Maintenance programs.
Increaseawareness and consciousness for healthful living.
Improvequality of life


There's a lot more that Hapas is into... hmm that's gist for another day
Formore info on support and volunteering please contact
FunkeSodade
08023538816
www.facebook.com/HAPAS wellness


MealsForAll partner

MealsForAll partner
more MealsForAll partners