The Noyam African Dance Institute, as part of its bid to bridge the gap between female and male choreographers in Ghana, has collaborated with Hayley Matthews (UK) and the Sanctuary on the Fault Line project to give selected Ghanaian performers the opportunity to be a part of a three-day workshop aimed at training and re-orienting female artist across the globe.
According to renowned Ghanaian choreographer and artistic director of the Noyam African Dance Institute, Nii-Tete Yartey, there is a huge gap in the male to female ratio of choreographers and performers in Ghana. This, he said, is a major and worrying concern to the Noyam African Dance Institute and Ghana as a whole.
To help address this problem, The Noyam African Dance Institute registered 12 female artists to take part in an international online lab for women dancers dubbed ‘Rage Is A Sane Reaction’ hosted at their theatre in Dodowa from January 8 to January 10 2022.
“It can clearly be observed that there are more male professionals at higher levels in the field of dance than there are females. The project was to provide some training and education to our female professionals; help expose them to modern innovative and practical techniques they can apply to their creative work and also help connect them to a global consortium of female artists and resources,” Mr. Yartey stated at the Noyam African Dance Institute theatre during the dance lab.
He added that: “the number of female choreographers in Ghana is worrying low, and there are many factors contributing to this challenge, from our cultural dispositions to economics to the lack of social structures and support for women to help them axial in all areas not just the world of dance.”
Nii Tete-Yartey disclosed that his outfit -Noyam- and its partners around the world, including Ensemble UK, are trying to do their part.
“But we can’t do it alone, everyone connected to the artistic value chain in this country needs to support this great initiative to encourage and support more females to become choreographers,” he said.
