To allow the world to move you—to feel, hear, and drown you—is to relinquish a sense of self to the music. Music, being the essence (and perhaps interpretation) of the world around us, can oftentimes serve as a means of communication regarding the self and physical world. One of these forms is that of the rhythmic movement of the body.
Starting this semester, a new dance ensemble is taking the stage. I had the privilege to interview Grace Duah ‘21 and was able to learn a bit more regarding the ensemble’s start and current goals.
“We are celebrating African heritage and bringing it to Muhlenberg College… there is a significant African population and… we felt it necessary to have a means to celebrate the heritage of dance in Africa.”
The ensemble itself is titled Afropop, which will be covering various genres within African dance—forming around a range from more traditional themes to more pop-based elements.
“Afropop is a dance group that celebrates the different music styles in an African view. A lot of people don’t know that there are different dance styles in Africa… like acro (which is dance that focuses on flexibility)… there’s ballerinas, there’s hip-hop dancers, there’s like slow dancers… as well as more traditional dancing. [Afropop] highlights all of the different styles.”
I asked Duah to further discuss Afropop’s origin and means of starting this semester:
“Initially, Kate [Ekanem ‘21], an international from Nigeria, had the idea and then shared it with me…and we, along with Wilhelmina [Minnie ‘19], proposed and then got approved as a club last December.”
Afropop seems like an exciting new ensemble that I look forward to seeing perform on stage. As Duah further describes:
“[To have] different cultures and different styles to showcase on campus is really appropriate and essential to the growth of the campus in general.”
If you are interested in joining, please contact Grace Duah for further information—rehearsals will happen Thursdays at around ten in the evening.
“It’s open to everyone and if anyone’s interested in joining, please contact one of us.”
