Nigerian Dancing

Dancing in Nigeria

 In Nigeria, dancing is described as dynamic and rich. There are many different styles in Nigerian dancing, and because of this, the dancing is not sorted into categories. The dancer’s steps and gestures are agile, graceful, admirable and elegant.  The dances include a lot of hip movements, and fairly simple foot work. 

The dance steps are coordinated with the music. The type and style of each dance depends on the music and instruments used. They have many different instruments to get the sound that they want. They also have many wind instruments such as many types of trumpets and flutes. 

The 6 main instruments are:

Frame drum: Usually the single drumhead is made of rawhide or man-made materials. Shells are traditionally constructed of bent wood scarf jointed together; plywood and man-made materials are also used.

Musical bow: String instrument that consists of a flexible, usually wooden, stick 1.5 to 10 feet long, and strung end to end with a taut cord, usually metal.

The long trumpet: frequently made of aluminium and played in pairs or ensembles of up to six

End blown flutes: a keyless woodwind instrument played by directing an airstream against the sharp edge of the upper end of a tube

Cruciform whistles: Whistles that are somewhat shaped like a cross

Transverse clarinet:  woodwind instruments that have a single-reed mouthpiece, a straight cylindrical tube with an approximately cylindrical bore, and a flaring bell

Ghana Dancing

Dancing in Ghana

In Ghana, the people danced for any occasion. They loved dancing and felt like it was a way that they could express themselves and their feelings. The people had different dances for every occasion. For every dance, the dancers had the steps down. The steps aren’t too difficult, but they took time to get them down.  

The instruments in Ghana dancing is almost as important as the dancing itself. They will have ceremonies where the whole thing is based around the drumming.  They have many similar looking drums, but they all sound different. They have 6 main instruments. 

Gankogui (pronounced gahn-KOHG-way): two tone iron bell

 One of three “timeline” instruments, its fundamental pattern remains the same throughout the entire form of the piece. Normally there is one gankogui in a Gahu ensemble, sometimes two.

Axatse (pronounced ah-HAHT-say): African gourd shaker

Also a timeline instrument. There can be between one and five axatse players in an ensemble, sometimes more.

  Kidi drum (pronounced KEE-dee): medium-pitched accompaniment drum

One of two response drums, its pattern can change in response to the boba. Normally there is one kidi in an ensemble.

sogo drum (pronounced SOH-goh): low-pitched accompaniment drum

One of two “response” drums, its pattern can change in response to rhythmic cues played on the boba. Normally there is one sogo in an ensemble.

boba drum (pronounced boh-BAH): lead/master drum

By playing specific rhythmic cues, the boba player guides the entire ensemble, including the dancers and singers, through the various sections that comprise the form of Gahu.

.Kagan Drum (pronounced kah-gahn): high-pitched accompaniment drum

Normally there is one kagan in an ensemble.