DANCE IS COMMUNICATION

Dance has been defined as an art form that generally involves the movement of the body, often in a rhythmic way and to music. But dance, goes beyond movement of the body. Dance is a form of communication.

Likewise, all dances in Ghana communicate. The traditional dances like Adowa, Kpanlogo, Agbadza, Borborbor, Gahu, Gome, Kete, Atsiagbekor and even a contemporary dance like Azonto all are used for communication. The meaning of the dance is embedded in every step the dancer takes, the gestures with the hands and even the facial expressions.  I have always known this truth but I guess I didn’t really believe as I didn’t understand most of the dances I have witnessed.

I have seen most of these dances being performed on different occasions but very often I am unable to tell the meaning of the gestures. I am only able to tell if a dance is that of mourning or celebration based on the occasion. That story changed as I understood a whole story through dance.

Someone doing the Kpanlogo dance

It happened on the 11 October, 2013 at the Kama Conference Centre during the launch of the 2013 “Because I am a Girl” Campaign report. The event was dubbed “In Double Jeopardy: Adolescent Girls in Disaster Situations”. The dance was to depict the theme of the event. I had doubt because I didn’t believe anyone could depict such a theme through dance without having to say a word. I sat in my seat wondering how the dance would look like.

I was surprised or should I say shocked when the Global Arts and Development centre took over the podium, as they told a whole story which depicted the theme of the event through dance.

It was after that event, that I really understood the statement, "Dance is Communication".

Perspective: Dance as a form of communication

CONTEMPORARY CIRCUS PERFORMANCE

A circus is a company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, jugglers, musicians and the like. Their performances are mostly done in circles called the circus ring. Circus performers are mostly nomads who move from place to place with their entertainment.

 I have always been a lover of circuses even though I have never seen any live circus performance. I see them in movies and hope for a day when I will see some in reality. My favorite part of most of the circus shows I have seen on television is when the clowns and jugglers have to do their own thing. I can never forget the acrobats in the circus shows I have seen, not with those killer moves of theirs.

 I don’t know if I can describe what I saw as a circus performance, but I think it is a contemporary form of circus performance. It is a performance that took place on Viking lines Amorella that left the shores of Turku to Mariehamn on the 18 February, 2014.

The performance took place at the fun club on the ship. I described the performance as a contemporary form of circus as it has elements of traditional circus performances. It had music, acrobats, dance and it followed a storyline about life events and like traditional circus performances, there were moving from place to place with their performances.

I don’t think what I saw was different from what I see on television. The only difference was with the manipulation of the lightening system to give the performers a silhouette look. Even if that show is not a circus, I am satisfied knowing that I have witnessed something that is or is close to a circus.

Perspective: Contemporary Circus Performance

MY EXPERIENCE IN THE AUDIO EXPRESSION WORKSHOP

On the 4th of January, 2014, I left the shores of Ghana and arrived at Turku, Finland on the 5th to take part in the JOCID exchange program. 

As part of the course requirements for Audio expression, one of the courses we have to take, we were supposed to learn how to use the zoom recorders.

This aspect of the course was taken by Mr. Jussi Arvio, a lecturer at the Turku University of Applied Sciences.  The course kick started with an introduction to microphones. After that, we learnt about the various parts of the Zoom recorder and the functions of each part.

Eva Kuupuolo editing her audio

We were then put into groups of three to conduct interviews amongst ourselves using the zoom recorders. The interview was in two folds. One was to be conducted sitting and the other, walking outside. 

My group chose a quiet spot in the building to have our first interview where we conducted the interview in turns.

When it was my turn to conduct my interview outside, I forgot to point the microphone

 at the interviewee’s mouth. I didn't even realize it maybe because I was too excited or because I had conducted the interview while walking. We all converged at the radio studio inside Tutka, where each group had to edit their interviews using Audacity.

I wouldn't say my group did a good job with regard to the editing but on the whole it was a nice experience; a lesson I will always carry with me throughout my journey as a professional journalist and probably to other fields as well.

Perspective: My Experience in the Audio Expression Workshop 

DAFFODILS

Poetry is said to be the expression of observations, emotions, and imaginations in a creative or metaphoric language.  I think poetry is the expression of emotions, experiences and imaginations using a more condensed language.

My all time favourite is “Daffodils”, a poem written by William Wordsworth. He is known for other poems like “The Solitary Reaper” and “The Sun Has Long Been Set”. William Wordsworth displays a heightened interest in nature and expresses a deep sense of emotions in his poems. It therefore comes to me as no surprise that he was considered by many as the crowning achievements of English Romanticism.

Daffodils

I love daffodils because Wordsworth employs a lot of imagery in the poem. The poem takes your mind on a journey once you start reading it. This is evident in the very first line of the poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud”. This line compares the loneliness of the poet to that of a single cloud moving in the sky. I find it very fascinating just thinking that of all the things the poet could compare a lonely man to, he chose the clouds.

He made use of powerful imagery in the third; fourth, fifth and sixth lines of the first stanza.

“When all at once I saw a crowd

A host, of golden daffodils

Beside the lake, beneath the trees

Fluttering and dancing in a breeze”

He made use of the word “crowd” to depict the unending stretch of the daffodils. He also made use of “host” to describe the welcoming sense the daffodil gave him.  He showed the specific location of the daffodils using words like beside and beneath. Wordsworth didn't

only show the location of the daffodils but the movement as well.  He described the swaying of the flower from side to side as a dance.

William Wordsworth made extensive use of imagery to paint a beautiful and vivid picture of the scenery. His words were chosen carefully to give the reader a mental picture of the beautiful scenery he had encounter and the satisfaction that came with that encounter.

Perspective: The Use of Imagery in the First Stanza of William Wordsworth’s “Daffodils”

AZONTO DANCE

Azonto is a dance form that originated from Ghana. It emerged from the Kpanlogo dance of the people of the Greater Accra region of Ghana. It also has elements borrowed from traditional dances from other regions of Ghana.

Afro Mask doing the Azonto dance

 Azonto, like many dance forms, is used for communication. A person could understand a dancer’s message from the dance moves: hand signals, facial expressions, gestures and the movement of the feet. Like any African dance, it combines elements of knee bending, movement of the feet, hands, shoulders and hips.

Keche doing the Azonto dance

Before the invention of the Azonto dance, young people shy away from the Ghanaian traditional dance. They regarded the traditional dance from their respective regions as a thing for the old folks. They preferred the brick dance and all the other western dance forms to the neglect of their own.

Therefore I think the invention of Azonto is a good innovation. This is because it does not only give the youth what they want with regards to dance but also combines elements of Ghanaian dance ensembles.

Culture is dynamic. I therefore think that Azonto is just an evolution of the Ghanaian traditional dances into what the youth can cherish and call their own.

No wonder, the youth of Ghana are showcasing the country worldwide through the dance. We can talk of people like Fuse ODG and BET Award winner, Sarkodie who are all advertising the country Ghana and the continent of Africa through Azonto.

Perspective: The addictive nature of telenovelas.

WHAT DO ADVERTS SELL?

I was taught during a course in introduction to advertising at the Ghana Institute of Journalism that advertising is any paid form of marketing communication through the mass medium with an identifiable sponsor. The main purpose of advertising is to persuade or manipulate an audience to take a particular action. For instance, it is used to manipulate audience to remain loyal to a brand.

I was told advertising can take several forms. It can either be outdoor, on-line, in the prints or electronic media.  Recently I have seen the trend of adverts in the Ghanaian media and I ask myself, what is the purpose of this advertisement? What does it seek to achieve?

 Advertising especially outdoor, prints and on-line are dissuading from the patterns of advertising ten years ago. Of course, I do not expect them to be the same because technology has evolved and improved over the last ten years. Therefore there should be improvement in the images as well as the concept of advertisement.  

I look at some adverts and I see a lack of creativity especially those that have celebrities endorsing them. I stand to be corrected, but from what I learnt in my advertising class, celebrities are to advertise or endorse the product and not to advertise themselves.

I sometimes look at an advert and I see no connection between the celebrity and what is being advertised.

Most of the adverts these days do not sell the product or the service but the personality in the advert.

Perspective: Celebrities are advertise instead of products during product endorsement.

TALKING-PICTURE

I visited the Helsinki Art Museum on 8 February, 2014 between the hours of 13:00 and 14:00. I visited the museum with other journalism exchange students and our journalism tutors. On reaching Helsinki, the first place we visited was the Taide Halli, the Helsinki Art Museum.

At the art museum, I enjoyed everything I saw even though I did not understand most of the pictures. I couldn't tell what the pictures meant or why the photographer chose to capture them. The truth is that most of the pictures were nothing out of the ordinary. All I knew was that, they were nice and admirable.

After I walked out of the museum, one thing kept running through my mind. No matter how hard I tried to shut it out, it kept coming to me every time I was by myself. I didn't know why the thought of whether pictures tell a story could not leave my mind. After battling with myself as to whether pictures do or do not tell a story, I decided to take a look at one of the pictures I took from the museum and see if it was telling a story and what story it could be telling.

Esko Männikkö

I realized the picture was telling a story. At least that is what I could see. I saw what looked like a deserted place with wheels and parts of a car or a truck. Most of the vehicle parts were not in good condition. The only conclusion I could arrive at was that a car crash occurred at that place or a place closer to the spot.

So despite the fact that I didn't understand most of the pictures I saw at the museum, that visit for me, was an eye opener to the fact that pictures tell a story.

 The next time you take a picture or decide to take a picture, take a moment and think of what story you want to tell with that picture.

Perspective: The story behind pictures.

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PERSONAL BRANDING

Social media is a term that refers to websites or application that enable users to create and share content and to participate in social networking.

How then can a student journalist use social media to create a personal brand? A student journalist can make use of these websites to improve his or her personal branding by making positive use of the websites and applications made available by social media.

Unlike the legacy media where lots of stories are competing for space, social media offers the student journalist the opportunity to create and publish his/her own content. For once, your stories do not have to compete with any other stories for space in the media. The student journalist can take advantage of blogging sites such as blogger, wordpress and micro-blogging sites such as twitter to publish his/her stories.

They can also use social networking platforms like facebook and LinkedIn to enhance their personal brand.

Student journalists can build a strong professional profile on LinkedIn which would pull a lot of professionals to connect with him/her. He/she can share his stories on facebook thereby performing his journalistic function in cyber space.

He/she can share photographs on interesting subjects or findings by making use of the free photo distribution sites like flickr and instagram.

The student journalist can also make use of free video distribution sites such as you tube to share his/her stories.

The social media offers more than just connecting with people and sharing content. It has got very interesting websites and applications one can use for personal branding. 

Perspective: Using Social Media for Personal Branding.