Nigerian attempts to break world record by dancing non-stop for seven days
Crowds have gathered in Lagos to watch Ben Dancer, who says he will carry on dancing until Tuesday morning.
**Nigerian attempts to break world record by dancing non-stop for seven days**
**Ben Dancer is due to reach his target early on Tuesday morning**
A Nigerian dancer is trying to dance continuously for seven days in an effort to establish a new world record.
Benjamin Daniel, better known as Ben Dancer, is seeking to dance for 168 hours — 41 hours more than the current record for the longest solo dance marathon.
Guinness World Records has not yet said whether the attempt will count as an official record. The BBC has asked the organisation for comment.
In recent days, young people have been turning up to support him at Freedom Park in Lagos, recording his every step and dancing along behind the barriers.
"It's a beautiful moment. Seeing how far he has come and witnessing him achieve this feat made me incredibly proud and grateful to God," Uche Anumudu, one of the spectators, told the BBC.
The existing record stands at 127 hours, set in 2023 by Indian dancer Srushti Sudhir Jagtap, who was 16 at the time. Her performance was centred largely on kathak, one of India's main classical dance styles.
Ben Dancer, 33, has worked as a professional dancer for 18 years.
His attempt started on Tuesday 22 September and, if he completes the planned 168 hours, he is expected to reach his goal early on Tuesday morning.
Throughout much of the marathon, Ben Dancer has drawn inspiration from Nigeria's rich dance heritage as well as its rapidly evolving internet culture.
Afrobeats has remained a constant, along with styles such as fuji, jazz and zouk.
Crowds of people have gathered to watch the performance
At times, he has changed out of his dance outfits and into traditional Nigerian clothing, including the flowing agbada and dashiki.
Nigeria has more than 250 ethnic groups, each with a broad range of cultural traditions.
Ben Dancer's team says the performance is meant to reflect that diversity, rather than simply test his physical stamina.
His team says he completed intensive fitness training before the attempt, adjusting his diet and concentrating on carbohydrates and cardiovascular conditioning.
During the marathon, he has been eating lightly and drinking fluids while using the allowed five minutes of rest for every uninterrupted hour of activity.
Ben Dancer has opted to dance for several hours at a stretch before using up his accumulated rest.
A medical team has also been on hand at Freedom Park to help if needed.
Ben Dancer is permitted to rest for five minutes every hour
The atmosphere around him has turned into something like a street celebration. Crowds of young people have come out to cheer him on.
Videos from the attempt have spread widely across social media platforms, bringing more people to the venue.
Moronumubo Akodu, who has returned several times to support Ben Dancer, said she admired his determination but was concerned about the physical strain.
"It is actually insane but I am so proud of him," she told the BBC.
Emmanuel Ulelu, who attended the performance twice, said he noticed a dramatic shift in the dancer's energy.
"On day two, you could see the stress," he said.
"Even after just three hours of dancing at the location myself, I wondered how he would keep going."
But when he came back 16 hours into day five, he said Ben Dancer seemed more energetic than before.
"It reminded me that we're capable of doing unbelievable things when how badly we want something matches and surpasses the difficulty of achieving it," he said.
Nigeria has also built a strong connection with Guinness World Records, especially in entertainment.
In 2023, Nigerian chef Hilda Baci cooked nonstop for 93 hours and 11 minutes in Lagos, and Guinness officially recognised it as a new record.
Her success triggered a wave of interest in record attempts in Nigeria, even though others have since gone beyond her mark.
Guinness says it received more than 1,500 new applications from the country within two months of her cook-a-thon, including attempts involving reading, singing and crocheting.