Kusum Gboo to Thrill Fans At Alliance Francaise

Kusum Gboo Dance Ensemble will on Wednesday December 17, 2003 dazzle traditional music and dance fans with choreographed dance pieces alongside their own variations of traditional dances in a magnetic performance at the Alliance Francaise in Accra.

The show, which will bring down the curtain on cultural programmes by the Alliance Francaise and the French Embassy for the year 2003, will also feature authentic and refreshing traditional music compositions from the group's two albums.

Music from the two albums released by Kusum Gboo - "Akrowasei" and "Worminba" have been variously described by critics as "a series of dramatic compositions inspired by indeginous rhythms and songs that reveal a real African celebration" and "compositions that are like great and open landscapes rent by mighty climaxes of beats, sounds and songs".

Dance pieces by the group are characterised by amazing show of strength, energy and control alongside heavy doses of wit and humour that reveal not only the creative power of young African choreographers but also the authenticity of their creations.

Led by Richard Danquah, the group early this year undertook a four-month tour of The Netherlands, Belgium and Norway where they mesmirised enthusiastic audiences with over sixty performances and workshops in diverse theatres, concert halls, cultural houses and university campuses.

Recently described as a world class group by Prof. John Collins, head of the Music Department, University of Ghana, Legon, Kusum Gboo also represented Ghana at the 2001 edition of Festival Mundial, a large scale multi-cultural festival held in The Netherlands.

With over thirty choreographed dance pieces to their credit, Kusum Gboo has hosted and trained numerous foreign students pursuing various programmes in African music and dance from Austria, Norway, Germany, United Kingdom and the United States.

Formed nearly twenty-five years ago, the ultimate mission of Kusum Gboo Dance Ensemble is to promote African culture by creating music and dance pieces that illuminate the richness and diversity of African traditional values.