Join Philip Agyapong for Spring 2024 at UC Berkeley
Dance Class Information:
Theater 166 | Class # 22081 | 3 Units
Mon, Wed, Fri | 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
January 16, 2024 - May 3, 2024
Location: UC Berkeley, 2401 Bancroft 10
NOTE: You do not have to be a student at UC Berkeley to register
For more information and questions: Email | IG
ABOUT
This course deals with the theory and practice of selected popular dances from Africa. Free Style dance phrases such as Azonto, Shorkie, Shaku Skaku, Gwara Gwara, Pilolo, Ekupe, Gborhe, Awna, Akaida, etc. from Ghana, Nigerian, South African, Togolese, etc. will serve as the foundation of our movement exploration, composition, and choreography. The class encompasses theories of both contemporary cultural and performance studies that emphasize the simultaneous confluence of global and African influences. Students will further study the transformation of selected traditional dance forms into contemporary constructs. We will trace the relationship of particular popular dance movements to existing traditional African dances such as Kpanlogo and Oge; and Azonto and Kpanlogo, all of the Ga people of Accra. The foundational elements, vocabulary, musical connection, culture, and history of the styles and their current popularity through social media will be explored.
Philip Agyapong is a dance teacher and researcher from Ghana who currently lives in California. At the University of Ghana, he earned his dance education by studying African dance forms from the rich cultural heritage and traditions of the Ga-Adangbe, Ewe, Fon, Akan, and Dagomba in West Africa. Philip earned his first dance faculty position in 2014 at the University of Ghana, where taught for a few years before relocating to California. He currently teaches African traditional dance forms (both theory and practice), African popular dance, and contemporary African dance in tertiary institutions across the Bay Area. Philip’s knowledge in dance, choreography, and performance can further be attributed to his practice with dance companies such as Diamano Coura West African Dance Company, Yameci Dance Company, African Music and Dance Ensemble, and Afro-Urban Society. He is also the founder of African Live Art, an online educational platform that connects instructors of African knowledge in art forms, history, architecture, technology, culture, and tradition to educational intuitions across the world.