Kusum To Launch Silver Jubilee

Kusum Gboo Dance Ensemble will on Saturday, January 15, launch its silver jubilee celebrations at the Alliance Francaise in Accra.

The concert, which will also features Hewale Sounds, Odehe Dance Company, Okotobribrigya Cultural Troupe and Music Agorsor will precede a brief official ceremony that will involve several personalities including Prof. J.H. Nketia (ICAMD), Prof. John Collins (Music Department, University Of Ghana), Atukwei Okai (Secretary-General PAWA), Hon Freddie Blay, (First Deputy Speaker), Hon Nkrabeah Effah Dartey, (Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Alhaji Sidiku Buari, (President of MUSIGA) and Nii Adote Obour II (Acting president, Ga Traditional Council).

Founded in 1979 as the ?People?s Cultural Troupe?, the group went through a series of transformations including changes in its repertoire and management, culminating in its re-birth as Kusum Gboo Dance Ensemble in 1991.

Through the efforts of its artistic director, Richard Danquah, the group has in its repertoire over twenty choreographed dance pieces that are accompanied by traditional dancers from Ghana, Togo, Benin, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe and others.

The company has gained wide recognition throughout Ghana, the West African sub-regions, Europe and the United States due to its professional approach and attitude towards teaching and performing African traditional music and dance.

As one of the hottest dance companies in Ghana today, Kusum Gboo Dance Ensemble has made bold appearances in several cultural festivals in Ghana and overseas. It has also organised and directed workshops and seminars in Ghana and Europe and hosted several European and American students pursuing various performances in traditional and creative African Music and Dance.

Kusum Gboo represented Ghana in the 2001 edition of festival mundial ? a large-scale multicultural festival held in The Netherlands. The tour, which comprised over thirty performances as well as workshops throughout The Netherlands, formed part of activities making the 300th year of co-operation between Ghana and The Netherlands.

In February 2003, the group turned to The Netherlands as part of its European tour where they again enchanted an enthusiastic audience with explosive performances in Amsterdam, The Hague, Tilburg, Groningen, Breda, Venio and Rotterdam.

In Norway, Kusum Gboo was recorded as the hottest group of the spring season in the world music and dance scene. The group performed and held workshops in almost all the notable venues for multicultural activities in the country including interviews and live shows on Norwegian and TV stations.

Kusum Gboo Dance Ensemble has two CDs, ?Akrowasei? and ?Worminba? to its credit, ?Akrowasei? which was released in 2001 and launched by Hon Freddie Blay, consists of sumptuous musical compositions and re-arrangements that are based on a complex and brilliant set of traditional songs and rhythms.

?Worminba? is a series of dramatic compositions and inspired by indigenous rhythms and songs that reveal a real African celebrations. This album was released in 2003 and launched at the British Council in Accra, by Hon Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey, Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development (Ghana).

The mission of Kusum Gboo Dance Ensemble is to promote African culture by presenting music and dances that illuminates the richness diversity and beauty of African traditional and culture as a whole.