Tuesday, Feb. 10, 1998

Far from home

Dancer brings Nigerian culture

By DEBORAH MARTIN
Staff Writer

   Gloria Bilaye-Benibo is raising her children in the United States, far from the Nigerian soil she danced on as a child.
   All the more reason, she said, to make sure they have a firm grasp on their cultural roots.
   ``I think that, whether we like it or not, if you don't have any roots, you are going to wither,'' she said. ``My children are Nigerian-Americans. I want them to have the best of two worlds instead of losing their heritage.''
   It is a heritage she wants to share with those outside the family, as well. That desire is the foundation for Odycee, the dance troupe she formed seven years ago when the family lived in St. Louis.
   Except for her daughters, most of the company's members are miles from her these days. The Bilaye-Benibos moved to Calallen last year, and some of the dancers headed off to college. But Odycee remains intact in spirit. Two of the dancers, Arneisha Walker and Erika Hatcher, flew to Corpus Christi recently to dance at the ``Living the Dream'' awards.
   Bilaye-Benibo hopes it was the first of many performances in her new hometown.
   Odycee does traditional Nigerian dances, many celebrating cultural unity and womanhood. Dance is an important part of Nigerian girls' lives, Bilaye-Benibo said.
   ``It is not looked upon kindly if a young girl doesn't know how to dance,'' she said. ``It's like how you are expected to learn how to cook by the time you get married. It is expected of you; it's part of the process of becoming a young lady.''
   Her father first noticed her mother when she was dancing, and asked someone about ``the pretty one that can really dance.''
   The company is named for him. Bilaye-Benibo decided to form it during a visit to Africa while he was ailing. He died without ever seeing his granddaughters dance.
   ``That's what hurts,'' Bilaye-Benibo said. ``Part of what this does is to hopefully make him proud.''
   Though Odycee is steeped in African culture, there's a lot that people of other cultural backgrounds can get from watching it and from taking part.
   ``It's not a black thing,'' she said. ``It's open to anybody who is able to experience something cultural.
   ``For one thing, I do know that if you know about some other culture, you are less likely to be suspicious and more likely to be accepting of it. The way you treat what you don't know is with suspicion.
   ``And (learning about another culture) doesn't take anything away from you. I take language as an example. The fact that I speak English doesn't mean I don't speak my language any more. Learning about a different culture doesn't mean you have to lose yours. It enriches you. It can only add, it can never take away,'' she said.
   Bilaye-Benibo hopes to take advantage of being in South Texas by learning some Mexican dances, which she would like to incorporate into the company's repertoire. Some day, she would like to present a joint program with a Mexican-American company.
   Bilaye-Benibo was exposing Americans to Nigerian culture long before she had the dance troupe. It began as a way of instilling pride in her children.
   She and her husband, sociologist Bilaye Benibo, came to the United States 15 years ago so he could study at Washington University in St. Louis. They arrived with one child, Ibiene, and another on the way.
   When the children were old enough to go out and play with their neighbors, they sometimes came home upset about taunts over their names. The Bilaye-Benibo children didn't understand why they were singled out, especially by children who also had dark skin.
    ``That made it even more important to tell them the fact that you are African is not just something to be proud of, but something to share,'' Bilaye-Benibo said.
   She and her husband explained to each child what their names mean. Ibiene means ``one born on God's good day,'' Tokini means ``glorified God'' and Biobele means ``my heart is glad.'' A fourth child, born four years ago, was named Osaki, meaning ``God's perfect time.''
   ``Because their names are different, they come off, even to the black people, as different from them. I went ahead and tried to let my children say, `Hold up. What does name mean?' In Nigeria, names mean something. The power of your name is fulfilled in you,'' she said.
   It was hard for them to understand that then. But over time, they came to see the wisdom in their mother's words.
   ``It started to make them (the children who teased them) sound stupid,'' said 16-year-old Ibiene. ``After a while, it was like water on a duck's back.''
   The Bilaye-Benibo children now wear traditional Nigerian clothes to church and on other family outings.
   Their culture ``makes us a little more unique, with something extra to give,'' said Tokini, 15.
   Both girls dance in Odycee. Their brother, 12-year-old Biobele, videotapes each performance, and knows the steps well enough to point out mistakes. Baby brother Osaki has surprised them by doing some of the steps around the house.
   The young women of Odycee have at least one fan in Nigeria. Bilaye-Benibo's mother watched them dance on videotape. She called Bilaye-Benibo right away and gushed over how well her grandchildren dance - better, she said, than the girls in her village.
   ``She's not objective,'' Benibo said, laughing. ``The thing is that you don't know what you have until you lose it. The kids at home (in Nigeria) take their culture for granted.''
   For information about the Odycee African dance troupe, call 241-4516.