The Happy Pod: Why I danced for seven days straight

Helena Burke (0:00)

This is the HappyPod from the BBC World Service. I'm Helena Burke, and in this edition, we find out how and why a man in Nigeria danced for seven days straight.

Ben Dancer (0:21)

On the third day, I almost wanted to give up because the pain was hitting me deeply. But I always remembered where I started.

And I kept going, and I kept going.

Helena Burke (0:32)

We look at the impact of the millions of free books given to children by Dolly Parton and how her dream is now being expanded.

Dolly Parton (0:40)

Let's share this dream that all children should grow up in a home full of books. You will never know unless you try.

Helena Burke (0:48)

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And how a man in Scotland played the long game, spending 25 years pulling off the perfect prank on his best mate.

Kevin Hill (1:07)

Hi, Kevin. Remember me? And it was with a picture of someone wearing the top in London.

Stephen Godden (1:13)

Who was the person?

Kevin Hill (1:14)

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Helena Burke (1:21)

We begin in Nigeria where a dancer has waltzed his way into the record books. Benjamin Daniel or Ben Dancer, as he's better known, shuffled, swayed and spun his way through seven days of almost non-stop dancing. The 33-year-old was attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the longest dance marathon using the challenge to highlight the struggles faced by professional dancers across Africa.

I asked Ben what it was like to keep the rhythm going for 168 hours straight.

Ben Dancer (1:57)

I started from the first day, the pain was intense. On the third day, I almost wanted to give up because the pain was hitting me deeply.

But I always remembered where I started. I said, we have a target and we have to keep going. And I kept going. And I had the right team.

They were there with me. They understood my goal.

Helena Burke (2:18)

Ben fell in love with dance as a child. And he since built a career as a professional dancer in Nigeria.

But his years in the industry showed him that there were some serious problems.

Ben Dancer (2:30)

There are no structures that helps protect the dancers and then give them a sustainable and a long life. If you look at the situation of producers and writers in music, they get publishings, right? They have royalties that keeps them going even after their career.

So for dancers, once you dance on a video set, once you dance maybe on a production, that's all. They just pay you for the production that you did and that's all. You have to pay for your medicals because you have to take care of your body, because our bodies are two, right? You pay for the rehearsal space, you have to pay for costumes and all of this.

So by the time you come back, there's nothing much that you can live with.

Helena Burke (3:16)

Ben wanted to bring the world's attention to the plight of African dancers. So he knew he had to do something big.

The current Guinness World Record for the longest dance marathon is five days and seven hours. Ben knew that with enough training, he could beat it.

Ben Dancer (3:34)

I was swimming for my breath control. I was boxing. I was doing weight lifting. And I was doing cardio. I was doing yoga.

So all of these things helped to prepare my body, prepare my mind for the seven days pain I was about to end back on.

Helena Burke (3:52)

After two years of preparation, Ben took to the stage in the city of Lagos. The Guinness World Record rules stipulate that for every one hour of dancing, you can have five minutes of rest.

Ben Dancer (4:09)

What I did was, I will dance for eight hours, then have 40 minutes. So it is in that 40 minutes that I will go to my resting room.

Helena Burke (4:20)

In those 40 minute breaks, Ben would sleep, use the toilet and get checked by a medical team. But what about eating and drinking?

Ben Dancer (4:28)

I was eating on the stage.

You will see there's a little table by the side. While I'm still dancing, I'm still eating.

Helena Burke (4:36)

There were many times Ben wanted to give up, as he felt his body or mind start to give way. But the constant stream of people coming to cheer him on kept him going.

Ben Dancer (4:50)