Staging Ghana: Artistry and Nationalism in State Dance Ensembles

364 Pages·2015·3.15 MB·English

by  Paul Schauert

STAGING GHANA
Ethnomusicology
Multimedia
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Staging
Ghana
Artistry and Nationalism
in State Dance Ensembles
Paul Schauert
Indiana University Press
Bloomington & Indianapolis
This book is a publication of Manufactured in the
United States of America
Indiana University Press
Office of Scholarly Publishing Library of Congress
Herman B Wells Library 350 Cataloging-in-Publication Data
1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA Schauert, Paul W., author.
Staging Ghana : artistry and nation-
iupress.indiana.edu alism in state dance ensembles / Paul
Schauert.
© 2015 by Paul W. Schauert pages cm. – (Ethnomusicology
multimedia)
All rights reserved Includes bibliographical references
and index.
No part of this book may be reproduced ISBN 978-0-253-01732-1 (cl : alk. paper)
or utilized in any form or by any means, – ISBN 978-0-253-01742-0 (pb : alk.
electronic or mechanical, including paper) – ISBN 978-0-253-01749-9 (eb)
photocopying and recording, or by any 1. Folk dancing – Ghana. 2. Ghana Dance
information storage and retrieval system, Ensemble. 3. Dance companies – Ghana.
without permission in writing from the 4. Nationalism and the arts – Ghana.
publisher. The Association of American 5. Ghana – Cultural policy. I. Title.
University Presses’ Resolution on GV1713.G4S33 2015
Permissions constitutes the only excep- 793.3’19667 – dc23
tion to this prohibition.
2015016736
The paper used in this publication
meets the minimum requirements of
the American National Standard for
Information Sciences–Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials,
ANSI Z39.48–1992. 1 2 3 4 5 20 19 18 17 16 15
For
Professor Nketia
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Contents
· Preface ix
· Acknowledgments xiii
· Ethnomusicology Multimedia
Series Preface xvii
· I ntroduction: Managing Nationalism, Crossing
Crocodiles, and Staging Ethnography 2
1 B eyond Ethnicity, beyond Ghana: Staging
and Embodying African Personality 38
2 D ancing Essences: Sensational Staging and the
Cosmopolitan Politics of Authentication 78
3 Soldiers of Culture: Discipline, Artistry,
and Alternative Education 120
4 Speak to the Wind: Staging the State
and Performing Indirection 156
5 “We Are the Originals”: A Tale of Two Troupes
and the Birth of Contemporary Dance in Ghana 194
6 P olitics of Personality: Creativity, Competition, and
Self-Expression within a Unitary Matrix 238
· C onclusion: Managing Self, State, and Nation 284
· Notes 295
· References 307
· Index 327
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Preface
With a luna, “talking drum,” under my arm, I stood on a
large auditorium stage, surveying a sea of primary school children and
their teachers who were awaiting a performance of “African culture.” It
was the spring of 2002, and I was poised to lead the University of North
Texas (UNT) African Drumming and Dance Ensemble for the first time
without my mentor – Ewe master drummer Gideon Foli Alorwoyie. I
was anxious but not about the execution of the performance itself, for I
had participated in this group for nearly four years, meticulously learn-
ing supporting and lead drum parts to various dances, and was con-
fident in my abilities to perform its small repertoire. Draped in kente
cloth, as I readied the students of the ensemble, memories of my first
trip to Ghana the previous summer flashed across my mind. Thunderous
echoes of brekete drums accompanied images of twirling spirit mediums
in gorovodu possession ceremonies. Filling my consciousness too were
drummers and dancers performing at all-night wake-keepings, children
playing clapping games, and fishermen singing over polyrhythmic bell
patterns as they pulled in their nets. I began to recall the many disparities
I had noticed between staged dance performances of the UNT ensemble
and their counterparts in Ghana.
These differences invited a host of questions about the representa-
tion of Africa and African dance on stage, in the West, and in an aca-
demic setting. Such questions brought me back to the performance at
hand, begging further inquiries. Who were we to represent this music
and dance? We were a group of mostly white, middle-class American
students, most of whom had never been to Africa. Like David Locke
ix