Laughter and flavours of Ghana were the order of the day at Commonweal School African Dance days held at the school on 14th & 15th June. The entire of Year 9 took part in African dance sessions as part of the school’s multi-cultural commitment to Arts Mark Gold status. This is an award given to schools by the Arts Council for their commitment to the Arts.

Dance and drum instructor Ben Baddoo delivered hourly dance sessions based around the Gahu dance. This dance was created by the Anglo tribe who live in a village called Keta which is on the East coast of Africa.

The Gahu dance is performed at market days, festivals and social occasions. The dancers would dress in opulent clothes and raise their arms in the air to show off their gold and jewellery. Facial expressions would be happy and smiling as the dance is a very upbeat piece.

Ben explained the culture behind the dance then taught the students the steps accompanied by an African drum beat. Once the steps were learnt Ben broke the groups into two halves and each half watched the other and gave one another feedback.

Commented Ellie Kibbey, age 14, “It was a good way to learn about other cultures.”
Commented Hollie Ricketts, age 15, “ Brilliant! A great alternative to maths, we had to count steps, beats and sequences.”
Commented Ben Robinson, age 15, “Excellent! I didn’t realise African’s sang as they danced!”