A Simple Concert Report

June 6, 2012

The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Department of Ethnomusicology

presents

“The Spring Festival of World Music and Jazz”

Sunday, June 3, 2012 at 7:00 PM

Music and Dance of West Africa Ensemble | Kobla Ladzekpo, Director

Program

Adzogbo / Adzohu

Gadzo

Tora

Tokoe

~~~~~~~~~~

“Ooh, look!  A zombie squirrel!” I yelled to Christopher as he sat eating Cheetos while we waited for the World Music performance to begin.  An overly friendly squirrel was about to make our acquaintance in front of the Herb Alpert building at UCLA, having heard the crumpling of the bag.  He quickly disappeared up a tree once he got his hands on a dropped Cheeto.  I eventually made my way inside of the Herb Alpert building and was struck by the most amazing view of the UCLA Music Library.  This was my first visit to UCLA, and I was excited to see that its music library looks almost as big as (if not bigger) the Glendale College main library!  Sadly, it was closed for the evening, so I couldn’t check it out. I waltzed into the auditorium and found a seat toward the middle-right, sitting next to Christopher and my father-in-law, Mike.  I noticed that the performance hall itself was pretty basic in its appearance and structure.  Nothing too ornate.  An empty area in the back housed several tripods and cameras that were ready to record.  Red curtains were richly and lazily draped onstage, awaiting the performers. 

The house lights went dim, and someone’s voice cried out from behind the curtain.  I heard the drums begin to play, and the curtains began to divide as the stage lights were brought up.  The first dance was Adzogbo/Adzohu.  The program stated that this type of dance was “originally associated with the war deities of Benin.”  The Adzohu portion is usually performed in two sections.  The first section, Kadobo, is performed by women and the second section, Atsia, is performed by men.  At this festival, however, they performed only the Atsia section, including the women.  The drum ensemble sat or stood in a semi-circle behind the dancers.  The larger lead drum, an Atsimewu, was placed toward the center and was secured by a wooden frame base.  The percussionists on stage right played Axatsi, a type of rattle played between the hand and the top of the leg.  Next to the Axatsi instruments were various other drums, either struck with sticks or with hands.  One instrumentalist played an Atoke, a boat-shaped bell, and the director played the Gankogui, a double bell.   The dancers wore colourful leggings and pleated, striped skirts and wore yellow tops.  Their dance appeared to simulate the throwing of spears and battling one another. 

Next, Gadzo was visually appealing in that swords were used.  There were certain districts in the Ewe regions that prohibited the use of swords for fear that dancers may injure one another or themselves (http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00726/index_files/Page951.htm).  The dancers, in this case, included both male and female, and all ages were present.  However, this dance is a traditional dance for young men.  The dancers each carried a short sword.  The instrumentalists in the background performed a call and response between the lead drum in the center and a sung response.  In terms of the percussive instrumentation, it was the same lineup as Adzogbo/Adzohu, showcasing the entire ensemble. 

Tora, from the Dagomba people of Northern Ghana was lighthearted in that the social aspect of the music and dance is fun and not about war.  The percussionists, instead of sitting, became a part of the semi-circle dance.  They played a Donno (pressure drum), Lunga (pressure drum), Brekete (bass drum), and a Gungon (bass drum).  Originally a woman’s dance, the Tora has become socially acceptable for any gender (http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=african_diaspora_isp).  The dancers jump toward each other and bump hips in the air.  The dancing almost becomes a contest between two friends.  The drums continue playing and signify different transitions within the dance. 

Ending the performance is the adolescent dance for girls, Tokoe.  This is a dance from the Southern Ghana/Republic of Togo people known as the Ga-adangme.  Young girls are secluded and are taught how to “become a woman” during this training (http://www.alokli.com/site/dances/dances.html).  When the training is done, the celebration and dance begin.  The dance was both erotic and nurturing, showing the dual livelihoods of women expected to be lovers and mothers.  The lead drum calls out a beat and the secondary percussionists respond on their own instruments. Here, the Atsimewu takes the lead spatially and musically.  The instruments beckon the dancers to begin their rare processional.  The male singer calls out, and the women sing a response. 

As I watched this dance, I imagined that the gestures performed had deep meanings - in terms of a girl’s passage into womanhood, as well as her relationship to the community.  I imagined in my mind’s eye how this event might have unfolded historically.  The newly formed women were performing this dance for the entire village to see her abilities as a woman.  Depending on the quality of her performance, her status within the village is at stake and even further, the prospects of a powerful husband or the fear of a husband at all drives through their minds during their performance.  Meanwhile, the men and boys of the village all imagine having their way with the best of dancers and the realization that, for the young men, they don’t have the legitimacy or the prestige to marry yet.  For the old men, the knowledge that their young wives would be consorting with the young warriors, regardless of marriage vows, also linger in their mind from a lifetime of experience.

The experience of visiting UCLA for the first time, seeing West African dances, and letting my mind go free was just what I needed on a Sunday night.  I learned by watching that the instruments, voices, and dance are all integral components of what create the overall feel of West African music.  If one element of this balanced musical cocktail were missing, it would certainly change the feel of this uniquely holistic art form.  The vibrancy of a pure percussion orchestra was much more powerful than the balanced scales of a symphonic European composer.  Perhaps I can learn from the energy levels of these West African traditional performances and implement that dynamic in my vocal performance. 

Works Cited

"Alokli Dance Repertoire." Alokli. Web. June 2012. <http://www.alokli.com/site/dances/dances.html>.

Behrens, Electa. "Dances of Northern Ghana." Web. June 2012. <http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=african_diaspora_isp>.

"Dances." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. Web. 06 June 2012. <http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00726/index_files/Page951.htm>.

Music and Dance of West Africa Ensemble. Dir. Kobla Ladzekpo. UCLA, Westwood. 03 June 2012. Performance.

Music and Dance of West Africa Ensemble. "Tokoe." Rec. 03 June 2012. Tokoe. UCLA Ethnomusicology Department, 2012. YouTube. Jessica Wawra (Kesselring), 2012. Web. <http://youtu.be/_jpe61A7ABY>.