A 33-year-old Nigerian professional dancer is on the cusp of making global history, closing in on completing a 168-hour non-stop dance marathon that would shatter the existing Guinness World Record by more than 40 hours.
Benjamin Daniel, known professionally as Ben Dancer, launched his ambitious attempt at Lagos’ Freedom Park on September 22. If he maintains his pace through the final hours, he will hit his 7-day, 168-hour target early on Wednesday morning. The current standing record for the longest individual dance marathon stands at 127 hours, set in 2023 by 16-year-old Indian kathak dancer Srushti Sudhir Jagtap. Guinness World Records has not yet issued an official confirmation of the attempt’s validity, and the BBC has reached out to the organization for additional comment.
Far from a mere test of physical endurance, Ben Dancer’s week-long dance performance is a celebration of Nigeria’s extraordinary cultural diversity. With more than 250 distinct ethnic groups across the country, the event draws from a vast range of the nation’s artistic traditions, blending time-honored local dance forms with modern internet-driven cultural trends. Musical accompaniment has spanned popular Afrobeats hits alongside classic genres including fuji, jazz, and zouk, and Ben Dancer has periodically swapped his standard dance wear for iconic traditional Nigerian garments, including flowing agbada and colorful dashiki.
To prepare for the grueling challenge, the dancer, who has built a professional career over 18 years, underwent months of intensive physical conditioning. He adjusted his diet to prioritize carbohydrates and built up his cardiovascular endurance to withstand the extended effort. Under Guinness’ rules, participants are permitted five minutes of rest for every hour of continuous activity; Ben Dancer has chosen to accumulate these rest breaks, dancing for multiple consecutive hours before pausing to recover. Throughout the attempt, a dedicated on-site medical team has been on standby at Freedom Park to address any health concerns, and he has stuck to light meals and steady fluid intake between breaks.
In the days since the marathon began, the venue has transformed into a vibrant, ongoing street party that has captured national attention. Crowds of young supporters have gathered daily to cheer Ben Dancer on, filming every moment of his progress and joining in the celebration from behind event barriers. Clips of the attempt have spread widely across social media platforms, drawing larger crowds to the park each day.
Audience members have shared widespread admiration for the dancer’s unwavering determination. “It’s a beautiful moment. Seeing how far he has come and witnessing him achieve this feat made me incredibly proud and grateful to God,” Uche Anumudu, one daily attendee, told the BBC. Other supporters have expressed both admiration for his grit and quiet concern over the physical strain of the attempt. Moronumubo Akodu, who has made multiple trips to Freedom Park to watch, called the challenge “insane but I am so proud of him.”
Emmanuel Ulelu, who visited the event twice, noted a surprising shift in the dancer’s energy after days of continuous movement. “On day two, you could see the stress,” he explained. “Even after just three hours of dancing at the location myself, I wondered how he would keep going.” But when Ulelu returned 16 hours into the fifth day of the attempt, he found Ben Dancer far more energetic than he had been days earlier. “It reminded me that we’re capable of doing unbelievable things when how badly we want something matches and surpasses the difficulty of achieving it,” he said.
Ben Dancer’s attempt comes as part of a growing wave of record-breaking challenges that have swept Nigeria since 2023, when Lagos-based chef Hilda Baci set a new Guinness record for the longest cooking marathon with a 93-hour 11-minute performance. Baci’s achievement sparked national excitement, and within two months of her record-breaking cook-a-thon, Guinness World Records reported receiving more than 1,500 new record applications from Nigeria, covering challenges ranging from continuous reading and singing to crocheting. Even as other contenders have since surpassed Baci’s cooking mark, her success opened the door for a new generation of Nigerian record-seekers like Ben Dancer, who are combining physical endurance with cultural celebration to capture global attention.