OJA! shares African culture on campus through modern dance

On Nov. 16, Brown’s modern African dance group, OJA!, placed second at the Battle of African Student Organizations at Northeastern University.

Co-captain Wura Adetola ’26 emphasized the group’s growth. OJA! did not place at BASO in Adetola’s first year, but leapt to third at last year’s competition. 

 “I am very happy and content with how we placed,” team member Whitney Ekes ’25 said. “It is a testament to how much work we’re putting into these competitions and dance.”

Preparation for the competition began during the summer, according to co-captain Siji Soetan ’25. During the fall, OJA!’s full E-Board met to discuss their plans, develop a theme and choose songs for their performance at BASO.

This year, the group’s performance was centered around a theme of Barbies and dolls, created by co-creative director Jena Forlemu ’27. Adetola and Forlemu explained that the performance began with dolls confined in boxes, about to be sold by their manufacturers. As the dolls came to life, they began to dance, eventually placing their horrified manufacturers into the boxes themselves.

This year, OJA! focused more on the theatrical details of their performance than technical aspects when preparing for BASO. “In order for the vision to come to life, we needed to incorporate acting and facial expressions,” explained Ekes. 

The weeks leading up to the competition were intense, Adetola said, with three scheduled rehearsals a week and more individual practices. Nevertheless, Adetola described the process of preparing for the competition as fun and collaborative.

This type of community-focused dynamic is one that OJA! intends to foster. According to Adetola, the group aims to create a “space on campus where students can dance (and) celebrate their heritage,” in addition to exploring a unique dance style.

“Our main initiative is about bringing people together and creating community and culture on campus,” Adetola said.

While Adetola had been a dancer for over a decade when she joined OJA!, other members, such as Forlemu, came in without much prior dance experience. 

“I remember seeing OJA! perform at Black Convocation and I was really interested, but I never considered myself a dancer,” Forlemu said. Despite this, she ended up joining the group after attending auditions with a friend.

Soetan, who is originally from Nigeria, wanted to be a dancer growing up, but his ambitions were not supported by his parents. Although he joined a dance team in high school after moving to Georgia, he stated that much of his dance experience prior to joining OJA! was informal, stemming from social gatherings or parties.

Soetan’s experience with dance — especially Afrobeats, a Nigerian dance style OJA! focuses on — has expanded the most through the group. But, Forlemu explained that OJA! p accepts a wide variety of dance styles, music and ideas because of the diversity of its membership. 

“We don’t really have set boundaries when it comes to what we do,” Forlemu said. “We’re all a bunch of creative individuals, which makes it really nice to see things come together.”  

For Ekes, OJA! has been a place where she can nurture her love for dance and develop her skills among friends. “I really love OJA!,” she said. “I miss being around everyone. It’s really just a community. It’s really a family.” 

As the competition season comes to a close, OJA! plans to increase their presence in the Providence community. Soetan mentioned that the group has upcoming performances at Melville Elementary School as well as with the college access non-profit Providence Promise. 

“We’re also looking to do more workshops to have the larger Brown community engage with us,” he added. 

The group’s biggest events during the spring semester are their spring show and collaborations with other dance groups on campus, including Mezcla and Badmaash. Until then, students at Brown can improve their own dance skills at workshops hosted by OJA! throughout the upcoming semester.