The internationally-acclaimed Ivorian diva, Dobet Gnahore, will on Friday March 30 perform at the Alliance Francaise in Accra as part of the 2007 edition of La Francophonie and the Ghana @50 celebrations.

Currently based in France, Gnahore is noted for her charismatic stage presence, powerful singing and original choreography that has endeared her to many fans throughout Africa and Europe.

Gnahore fully immersed herself into African melodies and rhythms after she was trained in the music and dance traditions of the Bete people of La Cote d’Ivoire.

Her father Bone Gnahore, also a well-respected Ivorian musician, had a lot to do with that training and Dobet has since managed to promote the rich culture and traditions of the Bete by incorporating them in her music.

A former dancer with the renowned Tché Tché Dance Company in Abidjan, she had a chance meeting with the French guitarist Colin Laroche de Féline, who was in La Cote d’Ivoire to study African rhythms.

She later teamed up with Colin de Feline for a performance tour of France where they worked on different projects with other musicians including Le Cabaret Nomade and the Guinean Kora star Ba Cissoko.

In 2001, they returned to Abidjan and participated in Market for African Perfoming Arts (MASA). They attracted a lot of attention from huge audiences and recorded eight songs under the supervision of the late Marcellin Yacé.

In 2003, their artistic project refocused on Gnahoré and expanded their setup to include a backup vocalist and a percussionist.

This was when Contre Jour, a recording label, which had taken her destiny in hand, produced her first album also entitled “Ano Neko.”

This CD comprises songs recorded in Cote d’Ivoire and Belgium in 2003 and contains varied and colourful influences from Mandingue melodies to Congolese rumba, from Ivorian Ziglibiti to Cameroonian Bikoutsi and from Ghanaian highlife to Zulu choirs.

Instruments like the sanza, balafon, calebasse and bongos ably supported the guitar, vocal backup and Dobet’s warm and powerful voice as she sang in a range of African languages including Bété, Fon, Baoule, Lingala, Malinke, Mina and Bambara, thereby evoking strong Pan-African sensibilities.

Dobet Gnahore’s performance is being presented by the Alliance Francaise, the French Embassy and member countries of La Francophonie represented in Ghana in collaboration with the Ghana @ 50 Secretariat.

The concert, which will be repeated at the Alliance Francaise in Kumasi on Saturday March 31, is being sponsored by Auto Parts Ltd, CFAO Ghana, Total, Novotel and others.