ABSTRACT

Generally, indigenous dances have strong influence in our society because of the power such dance entails, these dances are most spectacular and are representative of any art form which calls for the highest participation in African indigenous life. The consistency of studying or practicing indigenous dances, paying attention only to the form without apt attention to the content is a problem that besets indigenous dances in Nigeria. The less attention given to traditional dances in Nigeria as regards the analysis and review of the content is an issue that needs urgent attention. The compilation of this work is situated around the totality of Bata dance of the Yoruba people of South West Nigeria. This work tends to capture the output of Bata dance reviewing both its form and content to be a pivotal component that should be critically considered and examined when studying, practicing or making research on Bala or Bala dance pe,formance. The Bata dance of the Yoruba people of South West Nigeria is one of such dance that is facing such formalist ideology which specifically tenders its focus on the form of an art work. However, the anti-formalist ideology is borrowed in this work to inculcate the habit of not only studying the form, but also the content of traditional dances in Nigeria, specifically Bata dance. A thorough  study of the form and content elucidates and brings to the fore, the proper understanding of the dance in question. Form complements content and vice versa. Thus, this study concludes that every indigenous dance is embedded with both the form and the content and it is recommended that researchers and dance practitioners should observe the both sides when studying or practicing indigenous dances in Nigeria. Nevertheless, in the course of exploring the form and content of Bata dance, the analysis of the dance was duly observed in order to appreciate the aesthetic value of Bala dance of the Yoruba people of South West Nigeria .