National Theatre celebrates World Dance Day
This year’s world dance day has been commemorated in Accra by the National Theatre of Ghana and its resident group, Ghana Dance Ensemble.
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World Dance Day, also known as International Dance Day, was celebrated last Friday, April 28 with inmates of the Senior Correctional Centre in Accra, with the intention of using dance not only for entertainment but also as an educational tool for restoration and rehabilitation.
The dance company treated the inmates and their officers to ‘Bukom,’ a dance drama created by the late Prof. F. Nii Yartey. The performance was directed by Mr. Tete-Yartey.
‘Bukom’ tells a story about juvenile delinquency resulting from lack of proper parental control, neglect and abuse.
The production, in essence, denounces social vices like robbery, prostitution, streetism, drug abuse, murder and truancy.
So electrifying was the performance that when it got to a Kpanlongo dance, the inmates could not resist mounting the stage to join the dancers.
The main purpose of the International Dance Day celebration is to increase awareness about the importance of dance among the general public.
Nii-Tete Yartey, Director for dance at the National Theater said; dance was a vital component of life’s events which permeates through concepts of birth, education, religion, politics, economists, death and other social activities.
He said again that for the last four years, the company had created programmes to directly engage the public in connection to the World Dance Day celebrations.
He appealed to the Government, Ghana Education Service and other stakeholder’s to observe the day since training in dance helps to inculcate some positive qualities in people.
