X3mideas, a foremost marketing communications agency, has installed a Ballarina fountain in its office premises, located in Ikeja, Lagos State.
The fountain, according to Steve Babaeko, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, was installed to “honour all hardworking women of X3mideas.” He described them as the “wheels” that keep the enterprise turning.
“We installed Ballerina during the holidays in honour of all the hardworking women of X3mideas. They keep the wheels of our enterprise turning. We appreciate the men too o,” Babaeko wrote as caption to a shot video of the Ballerina fountain posted on his LinkedIn page.
On the connection between Ballerina and ‘hardworking women’, Babeko stated, in an exclusive interview with MARKETING EDGE, that Ballerinas are hard workers who are at the risk of sustaining injury because they are constantly putting strain and stress on their bodies and their feet.
“We just wanted to use that as a metaphor for all of the hard work that women contribute,” said Babaeko, adding that “it looks simple when you see how Ballerinas do their dance”.
“If you knew how much pain and hard work that goes into ballet; the climbing on toes and all that is a difficult thing.”
The adman further disclosed that women don’t get as many credit as they should get, for their contributions in the industry and the nation.
Babaeko, however, denied being bias against the male folks, noting that the Ballerina fountain does not suggest men aren’t hardworking.
According to him, “there are so many things we do every day that already gives credit to the men. Don’t forget that in Nigeria, we live in a patriarchal society where everything is more masculine.”
He added that, “I’m a man myself and I am the founder of the company. We can’t say men don’t do anything.”
A Bellerina is a female ballet dancer. Ballet, according to Wikipedia, is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread, highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary based on French terminology. It has been globally influential and has defined the foundational techniques used in many other dance genres and cultures.
The types of ballet dance include classical, romantic, neoclassical and contemporary ballet. Some of the methods adopted in ballet dance are balanchine, the Royal Academy of Dance, bournonville, cecchetti, vaganova and the French method.
Ballets are choreographed and performed by trained ballet dancers. However, traditional classical ballets are usually performed with classical music accompaniment and use elaborate costumes and staging, whereas modern ballets, such as the neoclassical works of American choreographer George Balanchine, often are performed in simple costumes (e.g., leotards and tights) and without the use of elaborate sets or scenery.
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