Performance

(Aug 13)

While Laura was focusing on dance, I elected to take private drumming lessons.  Between people taking private or group lessons, or practicing for the upcoming concert, the place was constantly buzzing.  The group had Gahu down pat, but the dance component of the second piece, Agbekor, was still shaky.  The final program  consisted of dancing and singing both pieces separately.  While we danced the staff musicians accompanied us.  We performed in costume with accessories and even war paint.

Laura wowed us all by dancing in two of the three additional performance pieces, Tokoe and Bawa.  The concert concluded with a number of dances performance by our instructors.

Members of the community and even passers by stopped to enjoy the performance, which was followed by a party and a feast.  Previously, many members of the group had pitched in and purchased a goat that had been slaughtered that morning (we were all invited to watch the process if we wanted -- Laura and I passed).

(Aug 13)

Laura here! Our last days in Kopeyia were filled with a flurry of activity for me. I was in the zone: going to private lessons, practicing, enjoying friendships, taking in every ounce of Dagbe possible.  

As the end of our studies approached I felt the weight of good-bye press upon me. It was time to bid farewell to our teachers, who were now our friends, to the children, who clearly were attached to us, and to the place that started to feel like home. I also had to come to terms with the fact that I would no longer have the opportunity to immerse myself in an art form that I have come to love. 

With yesterday's performance and our good-byes this morning I've been plucked out of my zone. Walking through the end of anything great is a difficult path to navigate... confusing bittersweetness. The sweetness is in my gratitude for my time at the Dagbe Cultural Center; for all I've learn and for the friendships I made; while the bitterness is a natural part of good-bye. I'm trying to keep myself open to the rest of the trip... to not be stuck missing Dagbe. I'll try to remember the Ghanian idea of Sankofa... lovingly remembering the past while looking to the future in hope.

-Laura and Mark