African Action organizes workshops and round table discussions around West African themes. It also organizes concerts of West African music and other events
such as drumming lessons for groups of schoolchildren, African dancing presentations and African theater. These pages give a brief overview of some of the music groups and entertainers that we work with. If you are a concert
promoter or organizer and want to host a West African cultural event, we can help you to choose, contact and book a suitable group. In this case please get in contact with James Rodgers (tel. 0511-1696964).
Please ask too if you have a specific group in mind which is not listed on this website.
Dancing events
Aikins Hyde
Aikins Hyde comes from Ghana but he's now based in Hannover, Germany, where he has been running a school for African and contemporary drumming and dancing since 1991. He also has a dancing school in
Teshie, Accra, Ghana (The Akoma Pa Center). As a former member of the Ghana Dance Ensemble and a solo dancer of the National Folkloric Company, Aikins has acquired invaluable experience when it
comes to the art of West African dancing. His dancing ability and ever-lively manner coupled with his excellent way of understanding and combining the European way of life enables him to teach his skills in a very special way.
The African way of dancing draws upon its strong contacts to nature and relies on unusual movements of the mid-section of the body.
In addition to dancing lessons in his school, he teaches traditional African drumming and dancing (e.g. at He also performs together with well-known West African groups such as Soloéne.
In Africa, drumming and dancing implies communication at all levels: with the gods, with nature, with the ancestors and with one another and as a social event. Traditional dancing is an elementary expression of
African culture. It is a reflection all social activities and forms an important ingredient for festivals and ritual ceremonies of all kinds. Website:
Music Groups
Soloénè
Soloénè, in the Ga language of the people of Accra, means "this is different." The group was founded in 1992 by master drummer Lartey Larkoi, who now lives in Bremen. Before forming the group, Lartey
Larkoi made a number of tours and performances in England, Germany and other European countries. Soloéne offers the members of the group, who are all professionals in their own right, a joint platform to present their work.
Soloéne has been giving concerts of West African music since 1992. Many of the concerts have taken place in Germany. The band has about 8 members (drums and other African percussion instruments,
guitar, keyboard etc.) They play traditional kpanlogo music from Ghana, highlife, reggae and other contemporary West African music. The group is based in Germany. Website:
Khalifa
Khalifa Ndione is an industrial mechanic from Senegal. He discovered his love for music approx. 20 years ago, shortly before he moved to Hannover, Germany. As a prolific singer and master drummer he soon became the driving force behind the groups "African Tam Tam" and "Serekunda." He formed his own band called "Khalifa & Band" in 1995. The group has since played at several renowned venues including Masala and at the EXPO 2000. In his spare time, Khalifa also give drumming lessons.
Sammy Voodoo
Sammy Voodoo comes from the Volta Region of Ghana. As the son of a voodoo practitioner, he grew
up witnessing the art of practicing voodoo. In his earlier years in Europe, he vowed not to have anything to do with such "primitive practices." He appears to have inherited the powers of a practitioner when his
mother died recently. His numerous performances at the EXPO 2000 bear testimony to this. This unique style of dancing to specific rhythms can leave you entranced for several hours. Website:
Bibiba
In the Twi language of the Akan people of Ghana, "Bibiba" means "something is coming". The group was founded in 1984 in Berlin by its singer and drummer Chris Kyere and his wife, Micha. For over 17 years the group has been entertaining audiences between Amsterdam, Berlin and Accra with its unmistakable style, a mixture of African rhythms such as Highlife, Adowa, Kpanlogo, Black Beat, Roots-Rock-Reggae. Master drummer Nyanyo Addo, Isaac Ansong and Kofi Cole have recently joined the group.
Adesa
In the Ga language, "Adesa" means "humankind." The group was founded in 1990 by Korkoi and Nii Ayi
Odametey, who are members of the Odametey Artists Clan. A central point of the group's music is based on the belief in Tigari (god of wind). The group has participated in a variety of artistes projects in Ghana and Europe.
Its current concert programme is based on the "Blohun Tso" music of the people of Northern Ghana. The groups entrances its audiences with powerful sounds from instruments such as the Gonje, Ashuwa, water
calabash Bunte, Sanku, Agogo, Blekete, Odono, Bima, Gome, Kpanlogo and Djembe. The motive for this kind of music is an encounter with the spiritual legacy coupled with ideas of the powers of nature,
wind and fire and how we are confronted with it today. This concert programme is called "Akoma" (Patience). The group also offers a masquerade programme called "Dzamashimo Parade." This is a replica of the
ancient Asafo Warriors with acrobatic displays wearing colourful costumes. The group also offers two musical plays for children: "Tifi and Abu in the Jungle" and "African Market,"
an African Clown Show for adults and children and African Drumming and Dancing Workshops for children and adults. The group's CD releases include: Airborne; Believer; Traumreise nach Afrika;
Blemahe; and Akoma, which is due for release in June.
Theater, programmes for schools and acting
Kobna Anan
Kobna Anan is a freelance artist and honorary cultural ambassador from Ghana, West Africa. He studied acting and drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in England and also at an acting school in
Germany. His work takes the form of an artistic presentation of his African birthplace, African culture, their customs and traditions throughout Europe.
His programmes for school children in the German language take about two hours each and are designed for three different age groups (5 to 12 years; 13 to 15 years; 16 years and older). He uses games,
dancing, drumming, singing and eating to show the German children how young people live in Africa today. The programme includes numerous elements which motivate schoolchildren and adults towards active participation.
The National Dance Company of Ghana
Not all whites were guilty: not all blacks were innocent.
That's not in dispute. That the barbarity of slavery happened at all is a Fact …Fact … Fact. "Musu" is a theatrical piece reflecting the slave trade. It challenges us all. It is meant to attack our senses
and ensure that this abominable event does not happen again. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, slavery seemed to be normal practice for many European nations.
Today, those painful memories still haunt Africans at home and in the diaspora. Musu - Synopsis ACT I – Set on the Gold Coast (Ghana), villagers are celebrating. Inter-village rivalry occurs and the
King settles the dispute without violence. Later the celebrations are interrupted by a strange sight and the Africans welcome unexpected Europeans.
The customary exchange of gifts follows. The celebration continues in a friendly atmosphere. But not for long. The Europeans have come to trade in human cargo!
Several Africans are captured, including one of the kings of the land. They are all taken to the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.
ACT II - The slaves are overworked on the plantations. They are humiliated and brutalized. The slaves rebel under their old king. They decide to take over the island of St. John, but fail in their attempt. They
face eminent execution … but the king provides a fitting solution, it's better to be free as dead people than to be alive as slaves. The National Dance Company is based in Ghana
The information provided here about The National Dance Company by courtesy of David Longdon.
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