Study of the Role of Dance Theatre in Preserving Ijaw Cultural Identity in Bayelsa State

Dance theatre combines movement, narrative, and symbolic gesture to communicate cultural identity, and in Ijaw communities in Bayelsa State it serves as a living archive of ancestral knowledge and communal values. This study examined the role of dance theatre in preserving Ijaw cultural identity in Yenagoa and Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas, Bayelsa State, South South Nigeria. A qualitative ethnographic design was employed, combining participant observation at six community dance theatre events, in-depth interviews with 10 dance theatre elders, 8 young practitioners, and 5 cultural officers. Content analysis of documented performance materials supplemented interview data. Results showed that dance theatre encoded Ijaw cosmological beliefs, historical events, and kinship structures in its movement vocabulary and narrative content. All 10 elder practitioners expressed concern about younger generations' declining interest in traditional dance forms. Three of the five cultural officers reported that state funding for Ijaw dance theatre had decreased over the preceding decade. Hybrid performances combining traditional and contemporary forms were more successful in attracting younger audiences. Schools with cultural arts programmes showed higher student awareness of Ijaw dance traditions. The study concludes that Ijaw dance theatre retains strong cultural preservation potential but requires institutional investment and creative adaptation to remain vital. Recommendations include school cultural arts programme expansion, documentation of endangered movement vocabularies, and an annual state Ijaw Dance Theatre Festival.

Keywords: dance theatre, Ijaw cultural identity, Bayelsa State, cultural preservation, South South Nigeria