Ghanaian troupe steals the limelight at summer festival

Doha: One of the foreign music and dance troupes that has attracted maximum attention during the first ever Qatar Summer Wonders mega-festival has been the one from Ghana, the African nation that finds very little mention here. The troupe representing this music-loving country is the National Dance Company of Ghana (NDCG). Since the QSW started, Ghanaian singers and dancers could be seen at all the four main venues, the City Center, The Landmark Mall, The Mall and the Qatar International Exhibition Centre (QIEC). Dressed in their colourful yet simple attire and carrying traditional musical instruments, the troupe won the hearts of almost every visitor to the QSW with their lively music and energetic dance forms.

The performance by the NDCG troupe in Doha is not its first foreign appearance. In fact, the troupe has performed in various countries and represented Ghana in African and international cultural events such as the Amsterdam Roots Festival, Ghana’s Week at The Hague and others.

One of the popular performances of the NDCG has been the Solma, which means telling a story. The Solma, according to a release issued by the troupe, was originally based on a dance from from Ghana’s northern part and was about contemporary Africa, about its political aspirations and solidarity in the face of oppression. It speaks about the trials and tribulations of urbanisation, traditional Ghanaian values and those of the Western civilisation, love, bonding, jealousies and gang life.

“The high profile of the NDCG marks the culmination of a development initiated by the first president of Ghana in 1962, when the Ghana Dance Ensemble was established under the directorship of Professor J H Nketia at the Institute of African Studies and Professor A Mawere-Opoku, its first arts director.

Opoku’s innovative traditional dances still remain part of the standard repertoire of the company. F Nii-Yartey became the artistic director of the Dance Ensemble in 1976. In 1992, a law moved part of the ensemble to the National Theatre, as an autonomous resident company which is now for the purpose of differentiation, known as the NDCG,” the release added.

Meanwhile, beginning today, all the participants at the Global Village at the City Center would be offering varying amounts of discounts on the items they sell. The rebate would be available for three days, until the end of the Qatar Summer Wonders, a press release issued by the General Tourism Authority (GTA) said.

“The rate of rebate would be fixed by the individual outlets. They do not want to take the goods back. Hence the discounts.