Akrowa
Wednesday 20 July 1pm Free Entry
Be transported to Africa by dancer Adie Baako and drummer Thomas Annang. Adie and Thomas grew up near the coast in Ghana and have a lifetime of music and stories to share. There was no electricity in their village – imagine, a life without wi-fi and iPads! – so singing, drumming and dancing was often the best way to entertain yourself. Whether the dance is designed to start a party, tell the stories of farmers and fishermen or honour ancestors, audiences of all ages will enjoy the infectious drumbeats and spectacular dance moves.
Thomas Tettey Annang studied under Master Drummers Okoe Ardeyfio and the world-renowned Mustafa Tettey Addey. He was a member of the Akrowa Drum and Dance Ensemble in Ghana for nearly 10 years.
Since moving to Northern Ireland in 2009 he has performed and delivered workshops across the UK at venues too numerous to mention and festivals including WOMAD and the Edinburgh Festival. Thomas teaches at the Crescent Arts Centre (Belfast) where he has set up his own traditional African Drumming Group who regularly perform throughout Northern Ireland including the BBC NI Arts Show World Music Day at the Crumlin Road Gaol.
Adie Baako is the lead dancer with the Akrowa Drum and Dance Ensemble in Ghana. Since first visiting Scotland in 2014 he has worked for ABC Creative Music with hundreds of Scottish schoolchildren, with Thomas Annang at WOMAD and other events in Northern Ireland & has joined Sankofa Beats – an African drum & dance group based in Edinburgh.
Our Partnership with Live Music Now
Live Music Now Scotland enables the power of live music to reach people at the heart of our communities, especially those who wouldn't normally have access to its enriching benefits and pleasure. At the same time, it gives almost 100 outstanding emerging artists across a range of genres – traditional, classical, jazz, pop – invaluable training and performing experience at the outset of their careers. Around 500 performances are given in care homes, day centres, special schools and other community venues throughout Scotland each year.