A Talent Show Worth Taking Seriously.

Why Ashesi’s Dr. Patrick Awuah Placed A Winning Bid of GHC 515 On A Size 12 Yellow Dress.

When the PlanIt Event Review Team was invited to the Ashesi Talent Show, we almost skipped it for an evening out at the Holiday Inn Poolside Bar. Thank God we changed our minds on the day. The Ashesi Talent Show is probably the best out of the few college shows we’ve been to so far. It reminded me of the MTN ad – and then…and then…and then…as we were served a palatable dish after another of incredible talent.

A beautiful jazz band performance led by the duo Prince and Yayra formed the prelude to the show ushered in by the show’s MCs, the beautiful Sandra and the eloquent Kwabena who could easily pass for professionals. Yayra’s powerful and soothing voice was a perfect replica of the famous Ghanaian songstress Becca and was an extraordinary preamble that made everyone sit up and take the show seriously. Their performance was followed by Walter’s grand rendition of ‘Redemption Song’ which made me feel so emancipated that I almost abandoned my seat to join him on stage.

Then came Dr. Lloyd Amoah’s exciting poetry based on his ‘Trotro’ escapades. “Women rubbing their buttocks in men’s faces…Men’s hands brushing against women’s breasts…the timeless world of a fascinating struggle that has no regard for status or gender…”. I glanced at Patick Awuah (President of Ashesi) and smiled as I watched this man, who is allegedly difficult to please, bearing an infectious grin as he watched and listened to Dr. Amoah recount his intriguing adventures in the world of ‘Car-lessness’.

It was after this intriguing piece of poetry that the MCs did a brief changeover and Gucci and his partner took the stage. “His real name’s Gucci???”, I asked the President of the Ashesi Student’s Council, Melvin, in a bemused tone. “Yup”, he chipped in, breaking into a wide grin. Gucci ushered in a dance performance by Simon, Brigid and two others. The performance started off quite well. However, I was just beginning to get bored as they performed their 5th dance when suddenly they erupted into a new dimension with Easy’s ‘Wengeze’ and went off the stage with a big bang amid clapping and wild cheers erasing all feelings of boredom. Next came my favourite performance from the duo – Jason and Hayla. A typical Scottish convert, I had come to love country music. These two satisfied my thirst for a good live performance which lacks in a lot of supposedly live local concerts. And that Jason…wow…a true unearthing of raw talent. What a great voice. Jason, if you’re reading this, do get in touch with PlanIt Ghana. We’d love to work with you.

Adwoa and Prince’s version of Kojo Antwi’s ‘Amirika’ brought me back to my roots as we danced and sang along to an old favourite. Kojo would be proud of this duo. The crowd was transported into the world of hip hop next with Edem’s ‘Chale More Vim’. That was something else. It certainly did send me back to my ‘interco days’ and made me wish I could remain forever young. There wasn’t a single person not singing or dancing to this captivating tune. Even Patrick Awuah was singing along! That was a hit meeeeen.

Show stopping pieces fit for the Oscar’s adorned the catwalk next amid cheers, cat calls and clapping featuring an impressive kaleidoscope of fashion pieces from Angelina, Zeddy Cross, Adwoa and Afua Aidoo. Then the auction started. Now this is where the show got really interesting as I battled head to head with Patrick Awuah in a bidding war for a lovely yellow dress I had my heart on. I thought I was tough but this man really demonstrated to me that when it comes to anything to do with Ashesi University, HE calls the shots! I was astonished yet fascinated when Patrick finally outbid me at GHC 515. Incredible. Why the President of Ashesi University outbid me for a size 12 yellow dress still beats me. I humbly settled for a green ‘designer’ jacket as I made a mental note that all proceeds from the auction would go towards the Ashesi Student Endowment Fund.

The servings of talent continued with a lovely Salsa Dance performance from the lovely Ashesi ladies and the young men from the Coconut Grove Hotel. Ever seen anyone do a salsa dance to ‘Wengeze’? Well this group pulled it off to perfection and left the crowd screaming for more. Kesewa’s passionate heartwarming poem was delivered by Afia amid ‘Oohs’ and ‘Aahs’ from the crowd. Short, impactful, sweet.

And the group Carl (Kawa?) Sackey! Wow. What an uplifting show of raw talent. They engaged the crowd perfectly and would certainly give VIP a run for their money anyday. The show ended with Mr. Akorsa’s purchase of a fine piece of art featuring the Kaleidoscope and the Malibu Trio’s remarkable dance moves. “Forever young. I wanna be forever young”, I sang, as we pulled away from the Ashesi car park with an impressive reminder of a great talent show worth taking seriously.

Credit: Gloria Buckman, PlanIt Event Review – planitghana.com