n deo handouts

7/28/2019 n Deo Handouts

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AdowaBasic Description:Adowa is a traditional dance of the Ashanti Kingdom, the most powerful

kingdom in central Ghana. Though predominantly performed by females due to the graceful

nature it can also be sped up and vigorously performed by males. It is often a partner dance as

well.

Adowa communicates meaning to the villagers and audience through hand gestures. The

gestures let the spectators know how the performer is feeling, if they are thirsty, when theyre

hungry, and many other things. Adowa dance is performed at cultural events in Ghana such as

Durbur Festivals, village gatherings put on by the village chief. It is also performed at funerals

and weddings, two of the lengthiest and most important celebrations in Ghana.

In Adowa the focus is on isolations of the hands, legs, hips. However movement in these three

body parts should reverberate through the entire body while dancing. The Adowa dance is done

to the Adowa rhythm of the talking drum, which talks and dictates to the dancer the steps of thedance.

Hand Gestures:

Linked pointer fingers - Connecting to others, relationships, saying I like you

Opening right arm to sky, then left, bringing hands into heart and back up to the sky-

Asantahenes (A-saw-teh-hee-nee) (Chief/King) movement means that everying on this

right and everything on his left is his but in the end the praise be to God.*

Elbow in other hands open palm with fingers extended and wrist rotating - I need a drink.

Leaning on someone with arms open wide - I depend on you.

Snapping fingers in the air (joined with a hop or skip in the movement) - Joy, unity, happy

Back side of pointer finger knuckle in mouth - Sorrow or sadness, grief (funerals)

Palms up and on top of one another extended towards someone = asking permission or

forgiveness

Touching the ground in front of the drummers, priest, Asantehene - giving due respect to

those who have created the dance space.

* If this gesture is performed by anyone other than the Asantehene they are removed from the

gathering by the Asantahenes guards. However, as we are studying and students of this culture

it is appropriate for us to learn it if we treat it with the proper respect.

AzontoBasic Description: Azonto is a popular Ghanaian dance performed by youth and young

twenty-somethings. The movement preserves dance qualities of traditional African dance but is

highly influenced by Western Hip Hop dance and music. A descendant of high life dancing and

music, Azonto dance is done to Ghanaian pop music called Twi-Pop. Performed at parties,

school variety shows, cultural celebrations, tv, music videos, and on the street the Azonto dance

has infused all of Ghanaian culture from the cities to the villages. The dance is performed


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differently by every individual but have some basic elements of a punch in the waist and

isolation of the shoulder muscles, and expressive arm and hand gestures.

Hand Gestures:

Mwain - Mouthing the word mwain while lifting the hand in the air to the side and front

of you and flipping the wrist to rotate the hand- synonymous to Whateva or Shut up Fingers in the peace sign (pointer and middle finger extended only) point towards an

audience member and then back to performers eyes - this says Im watching you, are

you watching me?

Fingers in the peace sign or bladed hands can point to any part of the body the performer

wants the audience to specifically watch

Funny faces and showy performances are characteristic of Azonto Dance

Improvisation Exercises

Preservation of you: What are the basic elements of movement most natural to you? What

movement qualities would remain when your children or posterity preserved your movement as

Ghanaians have preserved their cultural dances such as Adowa in a new form called Azonto?

Both Azonto and Adowa isolate the same body parts and express through hand gestures but the

energy qualities are quite different. Ghanaians have preserved the energy and style of their

ancestors but adapted it to be more relevant to them by using Western Hip Hop influences.

Spend 3 minutes moving to the music of the drum, move freely to pinpoint and identify

movement qualities that are essentially you. Critically think about if you were your own posterity,

what elements would remain as you performed your own dance in a later age of time?

Expansion and Extension: How have you taken movement of your ancestors and made it

express you more but retained some of the movement qualities of the past? First identify what

your ancestors movement was? With such diverse and global populations now this may be

difficult for students. Some examples to explore could be: How have students changed ballet or

modern dance or American folk dances such as the square dance to be more relevant to the

21st century?

Body Part Isolation (Create your own Azonto move): Three of the basic Azonto body part

isolations are in the hip, shoulders, and arms. Choose three different body parts you want to give

the Azonto punch quality to. Or choose the Azonto body part isolations and move them with a

punch in a new way we havent explored yet. See if you can create a new Azonto like

movement. (This new movement would be a great creative aspect to add to an Azonto

sequence already taught to students).


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Composition ExercisesAzonto Add On:After exploring the body part isolations and energy qualities of Azonto Dance

each student should be able to create their own unique Azonto movement and accompanying

hand gesture. In groups of four have students work together to string their 4 individual

movements together to perform for the class.A-Z Azonto: This activity could be an exercise with variation on a theme or the abstraction of a

gesture or motif. Students can take their favorite azonto move you taught them or that they

create themselves and then abstract it and change it little by little, repeating a new sequence of

an evolving azonto movement.

Azonto and Identity:Azonto is performed differently by each individual. It is a full expression of

self and individuality. Does Azonto help express your identity? How would you change the Azonto

movement to more accurately represent yourself? Create an identity solo with Azonto

movement.

Names and Identity: Ghanaians are very thoughtful about their names. Everyone is

given a name depending on the day of the week they were born on. Many Azontodancers have nicknames such as Slow, O-Boy, Stone, Lil Flip. Nicknames and our

given names say something about our identity. Have students write a journal entry

about the names they go by and what they say about their identity. This could be a

springboard assignment for a composition or improvisation assignment exploring

identity through names.

Duet:Adowa, the precursor to Azonto was often performed as a couple dance. Can you make a

couple dance out of Azonto where it is clear how the two performers are communicating with

one another through their gestures?

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