May 26—May 29, 2023 – DanceAfrica Performance 2023 – Dance | Music

“This festival heals, pumps up, and moves one to tears.”—Dance Enthusiast
This Memorial Day weekend, the vibrant artistry and revolutionary history of Ghana inspires an immersive, electrifying celebration of dance. Now in its 46th year, DanceAfrica presents a choreographic and musical journey through the past and present of Ghanaian culture, connecting ancestral traditions to contemporary achievements on the BAM stage. Featuring performances by the National Theater of Ghana’s National Dance Company, the DanceAfrica Spirit Walkers, Arkestra Africa with Musical Director K. Osei Williams featuring Afropop vocalist Amma Whatt and BAM Restoration Dance Youth Ensemble, this year’s tribute to Ghanaian excellence promises to entertain, educate, and empower.

PERFORMANCES
Fri, May 26 at 7:30pm
Sat, May 27 at 2pm
Sat, May 27 at 7pm
Sun, May 28 at 3pm
Mon, May 29 at 3pm

VENUE
Peter Jay Sharp Building

BAM
Howard Gilman
Opera House
TICKET INFO
TICKETS START AT $25
National Theater of Ghana’s National Dance Company
The National Dance Company of Ghana was established at the University of Ghana in 1962 by Albert Mawere Opoku, who also served as the inaugural artistic director. Opoku’s arrangements of traditional dances remain the core repertoire of the ensemble. Francis Nii Yartey succeeded Opoku for 30 years, creating extended works that explored the polyvalence of African performance. Currently under the leadership of Stephany Ursula Yamoah, the Ensemble presents indigenous and contemporary dance forms as well as dance-theater productions.