The third edition of the annual Ghana Dance Festival (GDF) promises to be exciting — with regard to the list of fun-packed activities revealed at the opening ceremony.
The dance festival which is aimed at promoting dance as a creative arts discipline, alongside with dancers, and dance institutions kicked off with the grand launch on Friday, September 1, 2017 and it is expected to end on Saturday, September 30, 2017.
The launch was graced by key personalities in Ghana’s dance industry. They include, but not limited to the former Deputy Minister for Culture, Tourism and Creative Arts Hon Dzifa Ablah Gomashie, the current Director of the National Commission on Culture (NCC) Hon Socrates Sarfo, choreographer and lecturer at the University of Ghana Mr Terry Bright Ofosu.
Outlining the list of activities, the CEO of the Ghana Dance Festival Mr Robert Klah, noted there are “sixteen (16) exciting weekly dance events scheduled within this period, with participating local and international dance groups.”
Among the list of activities include the Annual Ballroom Soiree, Afro-Latin Congress, Dance Seminar, Throwback Jam, the Lords of Street Dance, Dance Moviethon, Praise Dance Concert, Highlife Jam, Dance Production, Folk Dance Exhibition, All Dancers Games, Dance Workshops, Dance Aerobics, and Battle in the Ring.
Speaking at the launch, Hon Socrates Sarfo urged dancers to come together to attain a common goal. He noted that by doing so, dancers will be able to impact greatly.
Hon Gomashie also admonished all to continue dancing, cherish the Ghanaian dance, and do more by creating new dance styles.
“We can do a little bit more than we are doing; we can create our own environment and have other people buy into it,” she said. “Are we not tired seeing the same type of dance anytime we go to an event?,” she rhetorically added.
She reiterated the need to continue to beat the drum for azonto dance, which quickly and widely spread across the globe, few years ago.
“I think that azonto is the dance that we can continue to celebrate and promote. I can assure you there is no way shoki can take over azonto because it has already hit the world market (and) we have to hold on to it. We have to add new styles to it and let it go viral,” she stated.
Mr Desmond Opare Agyekum of Emigoh Ghana, producers of Yomi Yoghurt also mentioned the company sees their support for the dance industry as a CSR activity and so they are committed to supporting dance in Ghana; hence, the support of the festival.
The event which was followed with the All Dancers Party saw some fine dance performances from the Apex Ballroom Dance, Aces Dance Crew, Kyses Studios, The Gentlemen, Wear Ghana, salsa dance couple Lumva and Beatrice, as well as Milord and Elsie.
The Ghana Dance Festival 2017 is powered by your dance channel Dancetera TV and proudly sponsored by Yomi Yoghurt, as well as the Adinkra Experience. It is endorsed by the National Commission on Culture (NCC), National Federation of Dancers, Ghana Dance Association and Ghana Dancers Association. It is also supported in sponsorship by The BlackRide App and Malta Guinness. Cine+, TV7, GhanaWeb.com, GlammyNews.com, Zionfelix.com are the official media partners.
For more information on this festival, kindly visit Ghana Dance Festival or Dancetera TV on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and get interactive or mention the hashtags #GDF2017 and #GhanaDanceFestival or email: ghanadancefest@gmail.com, or call 0242-948455/ 0244-611808.
