Cultural activities at Alliance Francaise in Accra for the year 2007
will end on Wednesday December 19 with performances by a number of
traditional music and dance groups.

Dubbed Special Cultural Nite, the programme also marks the first anniversary of the death of Richard Danquah, ex-leader of Kusum Gboo Dance Ensemble, who had made diverse contributions to the development and promotion of traditional Ghanaian music and dance.

The show would feature Hewale Sounds, World Wonder Sounds, Okotobrigya Cultural Troupe and Kusum Gboo Dance Ensemble, who would jointly exhibit their latest artistic creations.

Also on the bill is the young dynamic Ghanaian poet Sir Black, who would spice up the night with poems that would highlight the contributions and exploits of the late Danquah in the cultural field.

Sir Black won the coveted first prize of “The Search” - a competition for poets organised by Peace FM in 2006.

Led by the flute magician Dela Botri, Hewale Sounds would entertain the audience with refreshing traditional Ghanaian compositions and contemporary ones that have received acclaim by several musicologists and art critics.

Based at the Arts Centre in Accra, World Wonder Sounds would fuse local Ghanaian rhythms with melodious tunes from KORA to create a new sound, which is expected to delight music fans.

Directed by Isaac Della Avorka, the Okotobrigya Cultural Troupe would do a series of traditional and contemporary dance pieces from a number of West African countries.

Back from their tour in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), the Kusum Gboo Dance Ensemble would showcase some of their recent compositions and choreographies. Now led by the Austria-based master drummer Nicholas Baker, the group would as well play a few tracks from its latest album.

A former instructor in African music and dance at the University of Oslo (Norway), Danquah, who died in October 2006, would be remembered for his energetic, highly expressive and imaginative dance pieces, some of which were on the contemporary tip but with their hearts firmly embedded in Africa.

His musical compositions and re-arrangements are “peppered” with elements from the vast array of indigenous Ghanaian rhythms. Characterised by loud African drums, shakers and bells, they signify the enormous potential and power of indigenous rhythms.

The programme is being sponsored by Alliance Francaise in collaboration with the French Embassy in Accra.