Kusum Gboo, Hewale Sounds ready for AF

KUSUM GBOO Dance Ensemble, together with Hewale Sounds, the sensational instrumental group, will on Friday January 22 hit the stage at the Alliance Française with a variety of new dance pieces and compositions.

The performance, which aims at introducing new artistic creations by both groups, will also enable the audience to appreciate the rate and state of development of the two groups, who have in diverse ways helped raise the image of the arts in Ghana throughout Europe, the United States and other parts of Africa.

Kusum Gboo shot into the limelight in the early 1990s with highly energetic and expressive dance pieces that were accompanied by frenzied drumming, colourful costumes and a formidable stage presence that swayed and attracted the attention of promoters and critics alike.

The group, which has three albums to its credit, has made bold appearances at large-scale multi-cultural festivals in Europe including Festival Mundial, one of the world’s famous festivals, which is held annually in the Dutch city of Tilburg.

It has also performed and held workshops in Norway, Estonia, Belgium and Sweden where the group worked with third year students interested in Ghanaian traditional dance at the Dance Academy in Stockholm. It is also one of the few African groups to have participated in the Midwinter Night’s Festival, which is also held annually in the Estonian capital, Tallinn.

The performance forms part of activities that are aimed at re-organizing and restructuring the group, which lost its charismatic leader in 2007. A new manager who has been working with the group for the past year will be introduced to the audience.

Hewale Sounds, which is based at the W.E.B. Dubois Centre in Accra, has enchanted enthusiastic audiences in Jordan, Norway, United States, Togo, Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Guinea, Benin, Nigeria and South Africa.

Known for its extension of traditional rhythms, Hewale Sounds, which also has three albums to its credit, has managed to expropriate the elements of traditional music to create a new sound that has received rave reviews in several countries.

Following a recent research with a number of local and African traditional instruments, the group is currently working on a number of fresh compositions, some of which will be unveiled at the concert.

Its leader, flute magician Dela Botri, has held workshops at the Cuba Disco International Festival (Havana, Cuba), Royal Music Conservatory (Den Haag, Holland), World Music Village (Vakeela, Finland) and the University of Colorado, USA.

The concert is being sponsored by the Alliance Française and the French Embassy in Accra.