The only conclusion one comes to after trying to figure out why Kojo
Antwi, Daddy Lumba, Obuor, Sidney, Nana King, Rex Omar, Amandzeba and
other local stars often seek out Naa Morkor Korley to dance in their
videos is that she is a natural.

She greatly enjoys dancing and her fluid movements are always a delight to watch. Just let the music play and she would be up to the task doing freestyle, highlife, dancehall, mapuka and various forms of Ghanaian traditional dances.

Naa Morkor, who is in her mid-twenties, told Showbiz she loved to dance when she was very young and moved her body to any kind of music that crossed her ears.

Encouragement from her family boosted her confidence to take dance serious. Dance has taken her to several countries in Europe and across Africa and she has the thumbs up for her parents, Adjetey Sowah and all the people who saw her ability early and helped pull her up in various ways.

Her father, Emmanuel Martey Korley is a drummer and her dancer mother, Korkor Addy, is from famous drummer Mustapha Tetteh Addy’s family. Naa Morkor was invited by a friend to join the Kakaloi Cultural Group at Alajo in Accra when she was 11.

“He had seen me dance a few times and when he heard that the group was recruiting dancers, he immediately came over to convince me to join. I liked dancing for the fun of it and was initially not too keen to join a group but I decided to give it a try. Soon all the cultural groups in the vicinity knew about that new dancer with Kakaloi.”

Naa Morkor said after about two and a half years with Kakaloi, she went to look up a friend at the National Theatre. The Dance Factory which was then led by Adjetey Sowah and based at the National Theatre, was incidentally rehearsing when she got there.

One of the Dance Factory dancers who knew her as a dancer too invited her to join in the rehearsal. She did.

“I was scared Adjetey Sowah would drive me away if he came to see me dancing with his group without his approval. Surprisingly, he had no complaints when he came and rather asked me to be part of the group.”

She says she would be forever grateful to Adjetey Sowah for the chance to join Dance Factory because she improved her skills and learnt a lot about freestyle dancing.

After Dance Factory, Naa Morkor danced with the African Ballet Company where she polished her contemporary dance techniques under the tutelage of Bernard Tetteh Okuley.

She has also danced with the Wuza Wuza contemporary dance group. “Now I hear a piece of song and I can right away start figuring out movements for it.”

Naa Morkor is a full-time dancer and took part in TV3’s Dance Fever reality show a year ago. She was one of the dancers selected to be part of Goethe-Institut’s second Burgher Highlife show at the National Theatre last March.

She says though she enjoys dancing fulltime, the remuneration is not very attractive. “I hope things get better soon because I survive on income from dancing.”

The local music stars still call her for their videos but she is aware a time would come when she may not be able to dance anymore and that is why she has set her sight on getting some education in graphic design.

Until whatever time she decides to make the final switch she knows dancing will continue to be her everything.

Story by Nii Laryea Korley