Ghana in America

As school starts and I begin to get busier, I noticed the opportunity to see a Ghanaian dance company at my library in Frederick, MD. Unsure of exactly what it would entail, I decided to grab Joy and go check it out. The other African dance program that I had gone to see had been decent but nowhere near to the caliber of dancing of Africana, and I was questioning if this would be more of the same. To my surprise and delight, it was almost as I had remembered. There were definately differences: a crowd of all obrunis that couldn't clap on beat, only 8 members instead of near 40, variations in the dances, a guitar instead of solely drumming etc etc etc. But the important things were there: Dark faces and beautiful beaming smiles, high energy and vigor, fantastic music and beats, and colorful costumes. They opened with the Bawa, and I about died as I remembered each step and had to fight to stay in my seat and not go up there with them. I knew almost all of the dances and was able to talk to a few dancers at the break. I spoke small small Twi and informed them of my time in Ghana and my good friends there. Surprisingly, one dancer knew several of my friends, Junior, Solomon and Adams. After the break, there was more dancing and Issac came to the crowd and pulled me out among others to go up and dance. I couldnt have been happier to join in. The eye contact and the big grins warmed my heart and made me believe for just one more moment that I was back in Ghana. I took their contacts and that of their manager and I will soon start working to bring over the Africana Dance Company. What a wonderful taste of the culture and life that I love...and what perfect timing...