Jude: The man of many colours

It takes a talented person to do so many things at the same time and do it perfectly and Jude Arnold Kurankyi can be considered as one.  

A dancer who has toured the world with his dance, Jude was a member of the famous Gospel group No Tribe and has acted in Hollywood movies such as Borga.  He is a good footballer who played in the second division with Capital Sports and currently a teacher at Al-Rayan International School.

Speaking in an interview with Daily Graphic, Jude said he is able to do all these and do it well because he is talented and loves what he does.

He stated, “if you love what you do, you put in your all and be perfect at it” and that he could proudly say he had mastered all his craft.

“I can decide to go into full time acting, be a musician, a teacher or a footballer because I am good in all these fields and I am grateful to God for the talent he has blessed me with,” he said.

Going into acting

After his many stage plays at the University of Ghana, Legon, Jude auditioned for a role in a Hollywood movie “Borga” and he was picked. After his role in “Borga”, he acted in few movies before movie producer Shirley Frimpong- Manso featured him in Dede and Eno.

Other stage plays he acted include “My Wife My Life” by Hill City, “Our Day” by Superfarm and “Money Heist” by Nyansapo.

Due to his versatility, Jude said there was no role he could not play as an actor and he was looking forward to more roles in Hollywood movies.

“I have acted in a lot of stage plays at the University of Ghana and getting the opportunity to work with a prolific producer such as Shirley Frimpong-Manso, there is no role I cannot take up as an actor. I am looking forward to working with some of the top Hollywood stars. It is time to put Ghana on the map and it will take some of us to do that,” he said.

Dancing

He loved to dance at an early stage so it was not surprising Jude found himself majoring in Dance at the University of Ghana.

Jude describes his dance story telling as Afro contemporary dance and he has so far travelled to places such as France, Austria, Ivory Coast, Germany, Turkey and Burkina Faso to deliver splendid performances.

Recently at Alliance Française, Jude held a one-hour solo theatrical dance called Multiple Me, where he took his audience to an interesting dance performance about the things he had been through.

With a commitment to spreading his art globally, Jude travels around the world to conduct workshops, training sessions and classes for both professional and non-professional dancers. Through these experiences, he not only imparts technical skills but also inspires and encourages dancers to explore their artistic potential.

Going into music

During one of his studio recordings, he met up with sound engineer Nacee who described his voice as unique when he heard him sing and quickly requested that he joined his No Tribe group. He was with the No Tribe group for five years and won several awards with the group, including releasing two albums “The Alter” and “One God”.

“Until No Tribe group got dissolved, we made a lot of impact. I am proud to say that I was part of the success story. The group was one of the best Gospel groups to have emerged in Ghana and I was really hurt it had to be dissolved,” he said.

Jude Kurankyi is preparing an album which he says will be ready by next year. The album, he says, will feature some of his gospel musicians as well as secular musicians. Apart from Nacee, Jude says OJ is someone he also adores so much.

Academics

Currently pursuing his MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degree at the School of Performing Arts of the University of Ghana, Jude holds a Diploma in Dance Studies and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the same university.

He is a teacher of Performing Arts at the Al-Rayan International School. What made him go for all these certificates and even looking forward to acquiring more is his desire to fulfil his father’s dream of becoming a High Court judge.

“All my late father wanted me to do was to become a High Court judge and I will make sure that dream is fulfilled. For now, I am taking things cool and living the dream as a multi-talented artist who can do anything at any time. I wouldn’t mind becoming a professor and still doing the other things on the side,” he said.

Jude Arnold Kurankyi

Born to Alice Efua Kurankyi and Justice Kingsley Kwame Kurankyi (late) in the Western Region, Jude is someone who loves to keep his family private. He prefers to stay with his family and watch movies than going out with his friends to party and get himself into trouble. One thing he dislikes is people who do not respect others because of their money or position.

“I just cannot stand someone who is disrespectful because of the position they occupy. I will not come near such people. I believe everyone deserves to be respected irrespective of who they are. I respect everyone including children. In this world you wouldn’t know who would help you in future,” he stated.

Jude has an academy called Deju Dance Academy, where he fosters a creative environment for aspiring dancers to develop their skills.