Kaffy. Photo: Jerrie Rotimi for Guardian Life
Talent is great, but the work we put in sets us apart. To be a professional dancer, you have to work hard and constantly do what you need to in order to grow and improve your skills.
Kafayat Oluwatoyin Shafau-Ameh, famously known as Kaffy is a prime example of how far determination and single-minded focus will get an individual in their chosen career path.
The year 2018, so far, has been a unique one for dancer, chorographer, dance instructor, and fitness coach, who has made appearances on the music videos of almost every successful Nigerian artiste, as she seems to be pushing herself even more.
Kaffy started off the year as creative director for the Aiteo CAF Awards, which held in Accra, Ghana. Choreographing for a big event like the CAF Awards is quite a daunting task in itself, which makes the fact that Kaffy’s choreography of every performance of the night a great feat.
Following this, she took on more jobs during the first half of the year including operating as the creative director for Soundcity MVP Awards, choreographing and starring in an ad for a Fidelity Bank campaign, and headlining the 10km Seven Up #Rundiff Lagos City Marathon.
It is the transformation of her creative passion into four thriving businesses and pioneering spirit that endeared her to Hennessey to offer her a three year deal for their ‘Never Stop, Never Settle’ campaign.
Other amazing work Kaffy has done this year include, performance at the Transcorp Hilton’s Arabian Nights party in Abuja, creative director and choreographer for Olamide’s ‘Science Student’ video; creative director and head of costumes for Flavour Live in Enugu.
She also, opened the AY Live show on April 1, performed at Techno global spring launch on April 6; head choreographer #PepsiRefreshtheMix, choreographed dance routines for Adekunle Gold’s #About30 concert in London, choreographed and coordinated some acts at #OneAfricaMusicFest in New York, and performed at the Big Brother Naija finale in South Africa.
Founder and owner of Imagneto Dance Company, Kaffy has won several awards, broken records. She is best famously for breaking the Guinness World Record for ‘Longest Dance Party’ at the Nokia Silverbird Danceathon in 2006.
Born and raised in Nigeria, she had her primary education at Chrisland School, Opebi and her secondary school education at Coker Secondary School, Orile-Iganmu before attending Yaba College of Technology for a while and later Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, where obtained a diploma in Data Processing.
“When I was a kid I travelled a lot and I practically grew up in England, Canada, New Delhi and Egypt. I came back to Nigeria as a young adult to complete secondary school before attending Yaba Tech for a while,” she said.
Asked how dancing career began, Kaffy says, “it was just a hobby and people would comment that I could dance very well and all that. I was always dancing because I was very active as a kid. I engaged in ballet classes, sports activities and so on. I continued dancing into adulthood. Then I used to go to the National Stadium during weekends for dance, work-outs and I think that was where dancing as a career really began for me.”
She continues: “I was dancing at a basketball court after a game one day and someone saw me there and took me to an event to perform onstage and a lot of artistes we have in the industry were there. After the event, Adewale Ayuba and Ruggedman approached me, and I appeared in their videos. Before I knew it, I was going for shows. It wasn’t as if I had it in mind to be a dancer, no. It happened by chance. My childhood career choice was to become an aeronautic engineer but here we are today.”
With her first deal signed in 2002, she broke into the entertainment industry properly. A month after, she was already appearing in music videos and doing shows professionally. She noted that an MTN dance show was going on and someone who saw her in a music video told telco company she was worth being one of their choreographers.
“When they approached me, I never had a packaged video to show to them but I assured them that I knew what I could offer. They gave me their trust and I was awarded the contract to be their choreographer. I landed that major contract in more than two months of having danced professionally. So, I can say I danced my way to fame and fortune,”
According to Kaffy, African culture has a way of undermining pregnant women, stressing that sometimes it gives some business organisations an opportunity to sack pregnant staff.
“My dancing while pregnant was a statement to that cause. I try to make a statement with that because African culture has a way of undermining pregnant women. Sometimes it gives some business organisations an opportunity to sack pregnant staff.
“Pregnancy is not a disease, it is just a stage of life. I get back in shape after pregnancy because I am always in shape, though it was not easy for me because all my children have been through caesarean sections.”
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