By Jonathan Ugbal: Government House Correspondent
Nigerian musical artiste and Afro Pop sensations, Innocent Idibia aka ‘Tuface’ and, Innocent Udeme Udofot aka ‘MC Galaxy’ were among top musical artistes that thrilled the audience at the 2017 edition of the Calabar International Carnival which held Friday night through Saturday morning at the U.J Esuene stadium.
Also, performances from Afrobeat and Rap artiste, Naetochukwu Chikwe aka ‘Naeto C’; Pop artiste, Sunny Neji, Big daddy and Comedian, MC George kept the stadium alive as 17 countries including Nigeria competed for honors at the 3rd edition of the Carnival.
The Mexican troupe displayed its classical Spanish inspired dances which earned a sustained applause from the audience.
The troupe from Italy displayed skills with the acrobatic exchange of flags synchronized with drumming tunes.
The U.S.A in the company of Belize showed some display similar to that seen in condos as the ladies displayed some vigorous buttocks and waist shaking skills.
Kenya thrilled with acrobatic displays which saw them climb a pole with unbelievable skills leaving the audience in disbelief and fear of a catastrophe.
France performed classical French music reminiscent of balls in the 18th and 19th century in beautiful red costumes. The upbeat tunes also left the audience in awe.
The South African troupes brought in excess energy which left the audience on their toes as the nude maidens danced to their wild imaginations while a chubby dancer kept displaying acrobatic skills.
WATCH Bare Chest Maidens Dance To Ayade And Okorocha’s Pleasure At Carnival Calabar
The Croatian troupe performed some stunts with the ropes on stage, swinging rope to rope on the stage. The troupe also brought in dancers walking on stalks and performing tricks which begged questions of how long they practiced as they synchronized well with a joggler.
Their play with fire showed the rich culture of theatres in Croatia reputed to have over 80 professional and amateur theatres.
The oldest independent nation in the African continent, Ethiopia came with some electrifying traditional dance steps similar to the Indians that were full of life.
The Lithuanians brought in a fire display coupled with pyrotechnics that left the compere pleading with the audience not to try it at home. The fire display was accompanied with great energetic music.
The Ukrainians danced to some classical eastern European tunes and performed fast but clinical stunts that left the crowd awed.
The troupe from Ghana was ushered in with the ‘One Corner’ song and the ladies came in with drums which they played to the admiration of the audience.
The troupe who consisted of 10 female drummers, two male acrobatic jingoists and two male drummers left the audience clapping at their masculine show of bravery and trickery.
The Brazilian troupe came in two groups with the first adorned with costumes from the Rio de Janeiro Carnival and performed electric samba dance steps while the second group displayed some karate skills and got the crowd clapping sporadically.
The Senegalese troupe was all acrobatic in their display and kept the crowd on their toes with well-choreographed and synchronized stunts.
They also performed some stage circus stunts with jaw dropping moments and juggling. Their performance was however, the most peaceful.
The troupe from the Royal Kingdom of Swaziland displayed a high level of synchronized acrobatic displays.
Meanwhile, the Tanzanian troupe’s performance was more about erotics and flexibility in the waist region. The drums and live band styled performance added verve to the display which saw the five female members of the troupe dance erotically from start to finish.
The Nigerian troupe which consisted of two units; the 2017 Carnival Calabar winners, Passion 4 band and the band from Imo state stayed longest on the tartan tracks displaying several acrobatic and dance skills.
Notable among the audience was Cross River Governor, Senator Ben Ayade and his wife, Linda Ayade; his counterpart from Imo state, Rochas Okorocha; the deputy governor of Cross River State, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the deputy speaker of the Imo House of Assembly among others.
NB: The story has been updated with the inclusion of the video
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