A region spanning from the southeastern corner of Ghana, across southern Togo, and into Benin, the Aflao Traditional Area has an extremely rich musical culture. Everyone participates in community music, and singing, dancing, and drumming are a way of life.

For 6 weeks, we will feature new versions of traditional music and dance by 6 groups from the Aflao Traditional Area in Ghana. Creating this experience involved multiple communities across continents.

Curated by Emmanuel Agbeli, the Director of the Dagbe Cultural Institute and Art Center in the village of Kopeyia, and organized in collaboration with our host, New York musician and composer Robert Levin, this session involved shipping an HD camera, 4 microphones, and recruiting an able film production crew from the Aflao community of drummers.

This is music and dance curated and filmed through the lense of the keepers of this tradition.

The curator

Emmanuel Agbeli is a renowned master drummer from Ghana, West Africa. He is the Director of the Dagbe Cultural Institute and Art Center in Kopeyia (dagbeinstitute.org) and will curate the groups to perform in this series. 

He is one of the foremost representatives of Ewe drumming, singing and dancing and has dedicated his life to the preservation and proliferation of his ancestral culture. In the Spring of 2022, Emmanuel completed a 2-month tour of the US, performing and teaching traditional West African music at 15 universities and schools in 6 states.

Emmanuel is also an accomplished sculptor, painter and a farmer.

The host

Robert Levin, a master musician and composer, has been diving deeply into West African music and culture for 45 years, and has been weaved into the Aflao area since 1988.

In service of the community, he founded a public elementary and junior high school in Kopeyia, a farming village in southeastern Ghana, and has helped to support and maintain the school since its inception 34 years ago. He organizes excursions for university students to learn music in Ghana.

Robert Levin is currently a professor of West African music at Montclair State University and performs percussion in the Lion King on Broadway. His compositions can be heard at robertlevinmusic.com and the story and photos of the Kopeyia school can be found at kgsf.org.

#1: Nutifafa Dance Ensemble
Artists: Nutifafa Dance Ensemble

A performance of Dance.

#2: Agbadza Cultural Youth Club (Aflao Batorme)
Artists: Agbadza Youth Club

Leaders: 
Yao Atatsi – Chairman.
Rapheal Logosah – Vice Chairman

#3: Amenuveve Cultural Troupe (Aflao Weme).
Artists: Amenuveve Cultural Troupe

Leaders: 
Dzikunu Geraldo – Chairman
Promise Seshie – Vice Chairman

#4: Dunenyo Atso-Gbadza Haborbor
Artists: Three Town Dunenyo Atsogbadza

Leaders: 
Cornelius Amegashitsi – Chairman
Kwabla Amegashitsi – Vice Chairman

#5: Kopeyia Dunenyo Kinka (Kopeyia)
Artists: Kopeyia Dunenya Kinka Union

Leaders:
Sali Godzor – Chairman
Yao Woegah – Vice Chairman

#6: Dagbe Cultural Troupe (Kopeyia)
Artists: Dagbe Cultural Troupe

Leaders:
Odartey Quashie – Chairman
Elike Agbeli – Vice Chairman

WHERE TO GET TICKETS AND PROCESS TO PARTICIPATE

I’m excited to announce a super series of six one-hour online presentations of traditional West African drumming, singing and dancing.
This is a seriously fun and educative resource – that you can reference anytime – that also gives direct financial support to the traditional music groups we cherish.

The Heartbeat of Aflao | Traditional Music | Ghana Sessions 1
https://www.viewcy.com/promote/robertlevin/Ghana1 click here to get your tickets (create your own price! even free…..) – then click “View Stream” (once you get a ticket, you can watch anytime, and as many times as you like)

Our talented friend and teacher, Emmanuel Agbeli, hand-picked 6 of his favorite local groups (3 cultural troupes and 3 drumming societies) from the Aflao area in southeastern Ghana to perform. On consecutive Sundays at 7pm (Ghana time), beginning 16th October, a new episode with a piece from each group will air on a terrific platform called Viewcy, which was created specifically to support traditional music around the world.

Viewcy has already paid each group to perform for video – outdoors, recorded and edited by a local Aflao crew, who creatively communicate the great vibes of each piece.
We can all watch for free, or set our own “ticket price” for watching, or even dash the performers a tip while we’re watching. All of the income generated by viewers will be shared equally among the 6 performing groups. There is also a chat box under the video for writing comments and asking questions – and for applause emojis. The performers will also be in attendance at the 7pm screening time, and we can communicate with them directly! If you can’t make it for the group screening time, you can still watch the episodes later on your own schedule, your tickets are good until you use them! – and you can still communicate with the groups about the music – they will check the comments and reply later to your email!

Over the six episodes, we’ll experience varied authentic versions of Atsiagbekor, Adzogbo, Agbadza, Afa and Kinka. And there are 13 other fantastic pieces performed, some popular favorites like Gahu, Togo Atsia, and Borborbor, and many other exciting cultural displays that our community has likely never seen or heard before.

Please reserve time in your calendars for an hour a week – between 16th October and 20th November – to connect with and be thrilled by some incredible traditional music!
Please share this announcement with your family, friends, students and colleagues!

cheers and good health,
Robert Levin

ps – this is Viewcy’s first foray into Ghana, and if you want to introduce other great Ghanaian groups – or fantastic traditional music groups from any country – to them, to perform in this forum, I’ll be happy to introduce you to the person who created and runs the platform.

The Dagbe Cultural Troupe from Kopeyia is one of the 6 groups we’ll enjoy in each of the 6 episodes!
They’re performing Gahu, Togo Atsia, Atsiagbekor, Adzogbo (2 sections), and Borborbor.

Disclaimer: Ahotoronline.com is not liable for any damages resulting from the use of the information.

Viewcy.com