Up-Close with Versatile Performing Artist, Kehinde Adeyemo-Fasuyi
With over two decades of a career in performing arts, Kehinde Adeyemo, also known as Kehinde Adeyemo- Fasuyi is one of the most versatile in the industry. A dancer, actor, singer, she laid a good foundation for her career with her study of Dramatic Arts at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife. She has performed with the National Troupe, the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture, amongst others. Her portfolio includes work with music greats such as King Sunny Ade, Sir Shina Peters, Femi
Kuti , Alabi Pasuma. Perhaps, one of her milestones in performing arts was to be part of the select performers for the COJA ( Comité d’Organisation des Jeux Africain) 8th All Africa Games and CHOGM ( Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) to welcome Queen Elizabeth to the summit in Abuja. She recently concluded her tour of North America with King Sunny Ade. She was the Assistant Co- ordinator, National Troupe Children creative station. A welltravelled performer, she and her twin sister co- founded the Osa Meji Entertainment and Ibeji Group, an Entertainment company that teaches African and Nigerian dances as well as languages. She is fluent in Igbo and Yoruba languages.
Growing up, one of her first discoveries about a successful career was that talent is not enough.
"I realised that I needed more than talent and a school leaving certificate to achieve that goal. So, I went to Obafemi Awolowo University where I studied drama and music. Next step for me is to travel the world with my art so I joined Femi Kuti's band as a dancer. But as fate would have it, that wasn't my ticket to travel the world. While I was with Femi's band, I heard about Professor Wole Soyinka's audition for his new play ' King Baabu' which was to go on a world tour," she recounted.
Just a few weeks later, she was one of the selected actors for the play.
It turned out to be one of the most challenging moments in her career.
"It brought out abilities I never knew I had as an actor. I ended up playing six different characters both male and female roles because the play itself should have been performed with nothing less than 100 actors but because it was going on a world tour, it was streamlined to 15 actors. We had actors and crew from Switzerland, France and Nigeria."
Afterwards, she alongside her twin sister joined King Sunny Ade's band.
"He took us round the world," she declared as she remembered the experience as one that was both educative and electrifying.
Kehinde and her twin sister would later run a television show called ‘ T and K in da Mix’; record songs as they explore other aspects of their creativity having imbibed discipline from the tertiary education.
Working with indigenous music bands had broadened her scope of dance and increased her versatility as a dancer because every music genre has its temperament.
For her as a performing artist, her decision to marry an artist was both a rational and emotional one.
"The best thing that has ever happened to me as an artiste is being married to an artiste. It makes it a lot easier to still practice what I love," she continued. "The only way I am able to do what I do being as busy as I have been and still able to keep my home is that I married my soul mate who also happens to be an artiste. When he travels, I keep the home; when I travel, he keeps the home. We balance each other and the fact that he is an artiste makes it all simpler. When you get a job you don't have to explain too much because, most of the time he got you the job or asked you to audition for it, so he already knows the details of it."
Adeyemo- Fasuyi is working to complete her music project.