The Ekubo family from Port Harcourt, Rivers State has been crowned Nigeria’s number one dancing family as the curtains finally fell on the popular family TV reality show Maltina Dance All (MDA) season five sponsored by Maltina, a premium non-alcoholic malt brand from the stable of Nigerian Breweries Plc.
The Expo centre of Eko Hotel and Suites was agog and filled to capacity as the Ekubo family danced their way to the winning the grand prize of N5million and a brand new Toyota Siena SUV at the live grand finale of the show. The Dare and Utogo families came second and third respectively with a cash prize of N1 million and N500, 000.
The
Ekubo family alongside four families that qualified for the finals;
Dare, Owolabi, Utogo and Ngwu families gave their last performance to
thrill the audience and boost their votes. The grand finale show hosted
by the Kemi Adetiba had the Owolabi family open the first phase of the
show with a performance thrilling the audience with Diana Ross’ “He
lives in You” followed by the Utogo family with an entertaining piece of
Angelique Kidjo’s “Agolo”. The Ekubo family performed with Infinity’s
“Olori oko”. Next on stage was the Ngwu family with an exciting dance
style with Terry G’s “knack u apako”. Dare family closed the first phase
of the show with Cabo Snoop’s “prakatatumba”.
The second phase of the show was the hip-hop performance and was opened by the Ngwu family dancing to Chris Brown’s
“Tonight is the Night”. Next to perform was the Dare family giving an
exhilarating performance with Tpain and Florida’s track “Low”. Owolabi
family was next to perform dancing to Prince’s “Give it to me” followed
by the Utogo family giving a marital performance with Dr. Sid’s
“Something about you”. The Ekubo family closed the show with Neyo and
Pit Bull’s “Everything”.
The
dance instructors and judges of the MDA Academy crowned the show with a
captivating performance that drew accolade from the audience and earned
them a standing ovation.
Mr. Jacco
Van der Linden, Marketing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc who spoke
prior to the presentation of the cheque and car keys to the Ekubo family
said viewers’ votes will crown one family the biggest and best dancing
family of Nigeria. “I am very glad to
say that we have doubled the price money; this year truly is the biggest
Maltina dance all ever. N5million is the winning prize plus a brand new
family SUV waiting here outside. Also we have in the last few weeks
gotten over forty thousand fans that have been following and commenting
on Facebook”.
In
a joyous expression of excitement as the family representative of the
crowned family of the MDA season 5, Ebimene Ekubo, recounts the journey
from the regional auditions in Port-Harcourt
where he qualified his family, “Now I can say that every effort we
infused into our dance styles is worth it. I am very happy with the
5million and the SUV, and only hope it is not a dream, because I will
not wake from it. But we thank God because it is real. Maltina has given
us an experience that I will live to tell my children when I grow up”.
Similarly,
Glory Ekubo the little sister that kept the audience constantly on
their feet at the final could not hide her excitement, feeling on top of the world
she claimed that “from day one we know that we are going to win because
we did not come here to joke. We came here to win the N5million and the
SUV and I am very happy that today my family is crowned the number one
dance family in Nigeria. It is a thing of joy and we only have Maltina
to thank for this, they have given a very humble family like ours the
platform to shoot ourselves to stardom and we will ensure that we are
worthy ambassadors of the brand.”
Janell Burgess, a professional dancer from the United States of America
and one of the Judges, said she is proud of all the families that
performed at the finals because “they embodied what we really cherish
here in Maltina which is family unity. One thing so special about
Nigeria is that its peoples really value and appreciate family. Here in
Maltina, we promote family unity and dance as an art. I'm so pleased
with the alliance of Maltina with the MDA family reality TV show, it has
shown that dance is a living and breathing profession that can serve as
a unifying factor in society and can also be adopted as a profession by
the families.”
She
stressed that over the years, there has always been a tremendous
improvement each year in the dance performances of the families.
“Because education is an ever ongoing process, Maltina created the MDA
Academy to teach families more about the art of dancing, the way to move
and adjust their bodies to different types of music. We basically
educate them on dance styles and patterns, so every year; it is only
going to get better as the education also gets stronger”
Burgess
added that, “the number one reason the Ekubo family won is because they
truly embodied the idea of family and they worked together at 100
percent level throughout the season as a family and that's exactly what
the MDA seeks to tell the nation, that the MDA is all about family
values - bringing families together through dance.”
Asked
on what they intend to use the money for, Ebimene Ekubo said “now that
we have won the money I will further my education to the highest level, I
want to study Theatre Arts so that I can further dance at a higher
level.”
The
Ekubo family were the only family that were never put up for possible
eviction throughout their stay in the MDA Academy where they performed
the six dance styles; “Wazobia” (Contemporary Nigerian dances), Salsa,
Pantomime, Paso-doble, Hip hop and contemporary African dance styles.
Meanwhile,
other Nigerians who witnessed the live grand finale commended Maltina
for the Dance All concept which they say is relevant in 21st
century Nigeria. Dr. Taiwo Olorunfemi, a Psychologist said the present
day family is so fragmented because of modernization which most of the
time compels both Parents to be out of the home at the same time thus
eroding a very important component; togetherness. “But with such a
concept families can bond together and solve problems as some of the
families in the competition confessed that this is the first time they
are staying together as a unit for a long time. So I commend Maltina for
the initiative that brought so many families together and show the way
that the family is still the bedrock of society”
Another
Nigerian, Mr. Okechukwu Anosike said unlike other reality show where an
in individual cannot pick positive values, the MDA has “succeeded in
showing the way that with ingenuity and foresight, a corporate citizen
can look at society, identify a certain need and look for creative ways
of addressing such need, which to the best of my knowledge Maltina has
done with the MDA.”
Pictures from the event...
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