A Nigerian dancer, identified as Benjamin Daniel, has completed a 168-hour dance marathon in Lagos in an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record.
TheNewsGuru reports that “Ben Dancer”, as he is popularly known, danced for seven days in an attempt to break the Guinness World Records title for the longest dance marathon by an individual.
The 33-year-old, who was cheered on by friends and supporters at Lagos’s Freedom Park, completed his targeted time at around 03:00 local time but continued dancing for another nine hours until midday, his team says.
In response, Guinness World Records confirmed that it has received Daniel’s application for the title, as the current record stands at 127 hours.
“Benjamin’s application is active and we now eagerly await submission of his evidence, which will then go through our official review and verification process before any record can be confirmed,” a spokesperson for Guinness World Records said in the statement.
His team said they were “elated” and emotional after watching him complete the challenge, which has been live-streamed on social media.
Young people gathered in recent days to cheer him on at Freedom Park in Lagos, filming his every move and dancing along from behind the barriers.
Indian dancer Srushti Sudhir Jagtap set the current record in 2023, when she was 16. Her performance focused mainly on kathak, one of India’s major classical dance forms.
Ben Dancer, who has been dancing professionally for 18 years and began his attempt last Tuesday, drew on Nigeria’s rich dance traditions as well as its fast-changing internet culture.
Afrobeats was a constant presence during his performance, alongside genres including fuji, jazz and zouk. At times, he swapped his dance clothes for traditional Nigerian outfits, including the flowing agbada and dashiki.
Ben Dancer’s team says the performance was intended to reflect that diversity, rather than simply test his physical endurance.
He underwent intensive fitness training before the attempt, changing his diet and focusing on carbohydrates and cardiovascular conditioning.
During the danceathon, he ate lightly and drank fluids while taking the permitted five minutes of rest for every continuous hour of activity.
He danced for several hours at a time before taking accumulated rest, and a medical team was present.
The scene around him became something of a street party and videos from the event went viral across social media platforms, drawing more people to the venue.