National Theatre to host new form performances

Music and dance lovers in Accra and beyond will from Thursday, November 17 to Saturday, November 19 enjoy new form of African music and dance performances at the National Theatre in Accra.

The National Symphony Orchestra, the National Dance Company alongside Azaguno Inc from the United States will put on a variety of music genres and dances  dramatically put together to create a new synthesis.

These include a modern exploration  of  the marimba instrument by percussion professor,  Dr Erik Forst of the Messiah College in Pennsylvania; a classic acappella of an original African-American spiritual composed by the American, Moses Hogan and a performance by the  Bi-tonic singers.

Pieces composed and choreographed by Professors Paschal Younge and Zelma Badu-Younge based on polyrhythms from various bells employed by Ghanaian traditional musicians in diverse dances from different parts of the country will also be performed.

Also on stage will be a devotional integrated practice of poetry, music and dance by Canada- based multi-disciplinary artiste, Sashar Zarif.

A Pan-African Ensemble piece for symphony orchestra and dance derived from the Xhosa and  Zulu (South Africa) philosophy of co-existence is expected to  charm the audience.  

It features 32 master drummers and incorporates rhythmic and melodic structures from several dance-drumming ceremonies from the Caribbean, Americas, many regions of Africa and the African Diaspora.

Ohio Arts, Ohio University, Messiah College, Azaguno Inc, the Ghana Tourism Authority and Central Hotel are supporting the programme.