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Music
and Dance from Southern Ghana
Northampton,
Mass.—Smith’s West African Drumming Ensemble,
with director Faith Conant, will present a program of music
and dance from southern Ghana, with special guest Nani Agbeli,
on Wednesday, December 8, at 8 p.m. in Earle Recital Hall,
Sage.
Nani Agbeli |
Agbeli, a native of the Ewe
from the Volta Region of Ghana, received his drum and dance
training from his father, Godwin K. Agbeli, who was the chairman
of the National Folkloric Company at the Arts Council of
Ghana.
Nani Agbeli has been a drum
and dance instructor at the Dagbe Cultural Center in Kopeyia,
Ghana, for nine years, to which people from all over the
world have gone to study, including students from American
schools such as Berklee College of Music, Tufts University
and Bowling Green University.
Agbeli has named his teachings—in traditional drumming,
dancing and batik-making—Woezo, a Ewe word meaning “You are welcome! My house
is your house.” He believes that learning and sharing in one another’s cultures
promotes love and peace.
Agbeli currently lives in Madison,
Wisconsin, where he directs and instructs classes, workshops,
and residencies.
The concert is free and open
to the public. |
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