Alkebulan's Awakening - Collaboration with The National Dance Company of Ghana

This project is an example of Colette Eloi's African-rooted, research-driven performance.

Collaboration between Colette Eloi's ELWAH Dance Theater & Research Group with The National Theater of Ghana's Dance Company, Orchestra, and Theater Company. "Alkebulan" was a full-length production that is now in the National Theaters of Ghana's repertoire. This work has been performed at the Elmina Slave Castle in Ghana as a site-specific healing ceremony. Colette Eloi and Stephany Yamoah, Artistic Director of the National Theater of Ghana's Dance Company, researched and choreographed this work. This research included rites of passage ceremonies that included dance, song, and drumming. These traditional dance modalities were used in context of the staged performance.
Dances from multiple places in Africa and the African Diaspora were used to tell the story of the heroine Alkebulan, who faces the challenges of being a black woman. At the same time, the work celebrates the profound dance modalities rooted in African ways of seeing the world and dancing in it. Photos by Nii Yartey.