Dance is How We Live

Dance is an integral part of life in Ghana. We dance on every occasion and whenever there is a reason to, in our homes, on the streets and at gatherings. It is something that is separate from our everyday life; it is our everyday life. In the north, in the south, in our villages and cities, dance is part of who we are. When Ghanaians dance, they so not just for enjoyment but to express something more.

We dance when we are happy. Happiness in Ghana does not sit still, it has to move. Wedding celebrations, outdooring ceremonies, graduations, birthday celebrations in all of them, there will always be dancing. Even while at work and at school, when a reason to rejoice appears, or some music plays, we simply get up and dance. That is because joy does not always have to define itself with words. It needs to move. We let our bodies become the voice of our happiness.

At the same time, we dance in moments of sorrow. Funerals are alive with Ghanaian singing and rhythms but with serious emotion. In dances especially during a time of mourning, we honour the dead and comfort the living. We moves during those dances are to comfort and to find peace. Dance becomes a great eay to release the pain and to remind ourselves us despite everything life must go on.

Moreover, dance is also about expressing our emotions when words cannot. Our traditional dances such as Adowa, Kete, Agbadza, Bamaya, among others, are done to communicate our emotions. Every movement, hand gesture, and rhythm has meaning. Without saying anything on the stage, a dancer can say thank you, call for peace, or tell the history of a community. Dance allows us to communicate and connect across age, tribe, and language.

In addition, our culture has to keep moving, and hence the importance of dance in the culture. That is why there is always a dance during festivals, church service, school events, or durbars. Dance connects us and make us celebrate every moment, share our culture and tradition. We have elders who teach traditional dance to the youth to keep tradition going. In this way, they are able to use dance to preserve culture and tradition for the next generation.

Dance rhythm flows through our veins. That is why every sound or beat comes with the right move, Ghanaians know how to move in time. We can clap rhythmically, we walk rhythmically, and we live rhythmically. This is how we relate to each other and connect with one another, especially in a community setting. In addition, every dance step contains our history. The moves we make in most of our dances today are very similar to those made by our ancestors.

So when we dance, we are not only dancing for our enjoyment we are dancing for those who came before us. When we hear the beat of the drum, we move our bodies with purpose, and not just for the dance per se. So understand that every dance is a message. Whether we are dancing joyfully, sorrowfully, proudly, or in unity, we are saying something powerful. We are telling the world who we are not in words, but with our dance. We dance to everything because in dancing, we remember, we connect, and we belong.