Kokrobite Dance Ensemble shows off

July 21, 2013

The group we drum and dance with, Kokrobite Dance Ensemble, shows us how it's really done!

Taylor's usually the first one to give it a shot!

Drum Workshop in Kokrobite

July 20, 2013

In the middle of our workshop with the Kokrobite Dance Ensemble, we heard this super loud music coming closer and closer to us. We go to check it out and it's a funeral precession with people marching down the streets while dancing. A group of gentlemen were carrying the casket and were dancing vigorously.. to the point that the casket almost opened! 

The fact that white is being worn indicates that it was an elderly person that passed.

OKO! Head Drummer for the Kokrobite Dance Ensemble and our drumming instructor :) 

We Arrive in Kokrobite

July 19, 2013

We arrive in the gorgeous beach town of Kokrobite. Only about 30 min west of Accra, this town is known to be a popular tourist site because of the incredible beaches and the amazing live music!

Check out our house for the weekend!!! 

Drumming workshops by day, beach by evening, life music by night?! Why did I come back to Canada..

Football in Ghana

July 14, 2013

FOOTBALL!!!!

Yeah, my first football match outside of Canada. So yeah, my FIRST football match!

Kumasi Kotoko vs. Northern Ghana

We invested in some memorabilia and thought that may bring some luck to Kumasi. But they lost :(

A woman sells food, while carrying it on her head and having a baby strapped to her back. Unbelievable!

This is actually how many of them get to and from the game haha! Awesome.

Calabash Dance Ensemble

July 13, 2013

We attended a Ga performance by the Calabash Dance Ensemble in a zongo area of Accra. This group is led by Master Drummer, Kofi. This was our second time being in an area of extreme poverty. It wasn't any easier to cope with. 

Once we were seated, they put on the most amazing dance demonstration! 

It's my Birthday!

July 11, 2013

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

It'll be hard to top this one. Today was a day of class and then awesomeness. Kofi, our flute instructor, and Brown, our drumming TA, surprised me with a performance of drums and flute playing on the streets of Osu in Accra!

Jackiet and Mensah, one of the drum performers!

Tyler and Brown!

Kofi and Mensah!

Mensah!

Couldn't spend a 30th birthday in a better way!

The Drumming Begins

July 8, 2013

First day of lectures begin. What were we all looking forward to? DRUMMING CLASS! With Professor Johnson!

I'm learning!

Well, really learning how to focus on more than one beat at a time. I found this is much more difficult than the technical aspect, especially for someone who's used to studying biological sciences and working in a lab!

With respect to our music classes, along with drums, we learned how to play the flute and the xylophone. This is Kofi Atentenben, our flute instructor!

Ashaiman Funeral

July 7, 2013

We attended a funeral in Ashaiman, an Ewe community on the eastern outskirts of Accra. I assumed it would be a difficult day. A day where we would witness morning at its worst, similar to what we would experience here in North America. However, we were quick to learn about the cultural differences between Canada and Ghana regarding what it actually means to celebrate one's life. 

The drums arrive. The dancers take their places.

As this was our very first live exposure to the Ghanaian musical trio of drums, dance and song, I was in complete awe and well, confused. Men were drumming, playing the axatsi and the gancogui while women were dancing away. How could this possibly be a funeral? We were told that the burial of the body is a more private ceremony and one more for obvious mourning. Following this, the community as a whole attends another ceremony, like this one, to truly and publicly celebrate the life that has been lost by playing their traditional music, dancing, drinking and enjoying themselves.