Wednesdays At The Paillote

Cultural Activities at the Alliance Française will next week bounce back with ‘Mercredi de la Paillote’ (Wednesdays at the Paillote), a platform designed for young music and dance groups to showcase their artistic creations. Performances for the last quarter of 2010 will commence on September 8 with a spectacular show by Kusum Gboo Dance Ensemble, a sensational group that has returned to the stage with full force following the signing on of a new management team led by George Dzikunu. The group will treat patrons to a variety of traditional dances that have been laced with their inflections, as well as choreographed dance pieces that are accompanied by loud African drums and colourful costumes. Atenteben Warriors, a group of young musicians, will mount the stage on Wednesday, September 15, with traditional music that has been enhanced with contemporary beats and rhythms. The group, which was recently formed, has managed to entertain audiences in several venues in Accra. Wednesday, September 22, will be the turn of Amamere Folk Music, which is set to surprise fans with an assortment of folk tunes from Ghana and other neighbouring countries. The band has performed to cheering audiences in The Netherlands, Germany, The United Kingdom and a number of West African countries. The 2010 edition of the Accra Jazz and World Music Festival will be launched on Wednesday, September 29, with a performance by Eden Vibes, a jazz group comprising students from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. Eden Vibes participated in the finals of New Music Ghana competition, which was held in June 2010. Led by Alfred Young, Karma Band will send music lovers on a journey of jazz and afro fusion on Wednesday, October 6, while Jajopiem, led by saxophonist/trumpeter Dela Jackson, would entertain jazz lovers with a series of standard jazz tunes as well as afro jazz on Wednesday, October 13. Wednesday, October 20, will witness the closing ceremony of the Accra Jazz and World Music Festival with a concert by the French group Archi Music. Results of a workshop with some Ghanaian musicians would also be showcased. All concerts and performances are being sponsored by the Alliance Française in collaboration with the French Embassy in Accra.