The whirling acrobatic masquerade dancers from Edo state were hands down the students’ favorite performers during the recent school celebration of Nigerian Cultre Day. With masks over their faces and colorful jumpsuits, they looked like masked harlequins, and they proved to be playful at times. The masquerade dance has also been referred to as a male dance and a warrior dance, because this is how they demonstrate their physical agility and strength. Other parts of Nigeria also have variants of the masquerade dance, usually as a part of religious or spiritual ritual.
