I WILL STORM IN TO THE MASQUERADE BALL AS THERESA ONUORA__LOH 310

Hello Ladies of Hive!

When I saw Prompt 1 — If LOH organize lavish masquerade meetup, who you go dress as?

I will not dress as Queen or Cinderella. I will dress as Theresa Onuorah.

Yes, our own Egedege Queen. The woman wey make Anambra proud. The woman wey at 80 years still dey dance, still dey sing, still dey command stage.

Why Theresa Onuorah?

Because she taught me that culture is not old school. When I was small, anytime my mama put her cassette — "Ogene Egedege" — I go dey dance with wrapper for waist, shaking leg like say I sabi. My friends go laugh say "old woman music". But me, I love am. The dance, the flute, the ogene sound, the way she go turn and her beads will shake.

Theresa Onuorah is not just a singer. She is an accomplished artist. She carried Igbo culture for head like crown for more than 50 years, when many people dey chase oyibo music. She proved that a woman can be a star without naked body, without scandal — just with talent, with dance, with respect.

That is the kind of woman I want to be. A woman that her culture na her power.

If I dress as her for the ball, I will wear big Igbo George wrapper with red cap, heavy coral beads for neck, horse-tail for hand, and white chalk for face. I will tie my wrapper low, I will dance small Egedege step as I enter. I will not hold sword or book — I will hold ogene and ichaka. Because my own power na joy, na dance, na to make people happy even when things hard.

I want to walk into that LOH hall and make everybody shout "Egedege!".

Since when I be small, I don love to dance. So this masquerade go be my chance to be queen of dance for one night.

If you see me that night as Theresa Onuorah, abeg follow me dance oh.

Who you go dress as for the ball?

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