Members of the Okyeman Cultural Ensemble smiled broadly, hugged each other and patted themselves on the back at the end of their recent tour of Kigali, Rwanda and Kampala in Uganda.
They knew they had the ability to always deliver enthralling performances with their wide repertoire of Ghanaian drumming and dances, but the four gigs in Kigali and one in Kampala went so well that they couldn’t help feeling delighted with themselves.
The first performance was at the Kigali International Airport (KIA) on August 28, 2024.
The busy facility handles hundreds of thousands of international and domestic passengers annually.
A couple of hours after its arrival, the group of highly experienced performers lunged into action in a hall at the airport that got many travellers shaking their bodies to rhythms that included Kpanlogo, Kolomashi, Adowa, Agbadza and Bamaya.
The Okyeman Cultural Ensemble was founded in Jamestown – Accra by George Kofi Amofa. It has over the years explored rhythms and dances from across Ghana to spread the richness of the nation’s culture at a variety of social and corporate events.
The group’s second assignment in Kigali was on August 29, 2024 at the Niyo Arts Centre, a venue described as a place where Rwadan artists go and experiment with their art forms. Apart from the visual arts, the centre also regularly hosts musical and theatrical performances.
According to the Okyeman Cultural Ensemble founder, they tremendously enjoyed the cordiality extended to them at the Niyo Arts Centre and praised the venue’s management for hosting performers from other African countries to share their experiences in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
The Ghanaian performers also put up an invigorating show at the GroupeScolaire (GS) Kacyiru II School, located in the Gasabo District in Kigali City, on August 30, 2024. It was an enlightening experience for both parties as the performers shared ideas with the Rwandan students.
The Kigali Convention Center (KCC) was the next port of call for the Okyeman Cultural Ensemble on August 31, 2024.
It is the leading conference venue in Rwanda, and its different halls of various sizes enabled attendees at a number of conferences to drop in to see and dance for a while to the music of the Ghanaian ensemble.
They finished their tour with a historic bash in the Kabaka’s Palace at Mengo, a suburb of Kampala, on September 1, 2024. Kabaka is the title of the head of the Buganda kingdom in Uganda.
“We felt it a privilege to perform at the official residence of the Buganda king,” the group’s founder said. “It is an important place of African tradition and we were more than excited to appear there.”
The Okyeman Cultural Ensemble has been busy in recent months. So a section of the group undertook the Rwanda and Uganda tour while others saw to other performances.
The group is looking forward to a series of gigs in the United States and believes it would be another wonderful opportunity to showcase Ghana through thrilling traditional music and dance.
By George Clifford Owusu