Friday, December 30, 2011

AZONTO 2011into 2012

Azonto is an original Ghanaian expressive dance and music form. Azonto Dance form incorporates complex co-ordinated body movement and non-verbal communication in a rhythmic fashion in very few one-two timed steps. Just like most African dances, knee bending and hip movements are rudiments to dancing it. The dance has effectively evolved from a few rudimentary moves to embrace depictions of washing, driving, boxing, grooming, praying, swimming, and others. Generally, the dance reflects the creativity and rich sense of humour of the Ghanaian people. The dance, which is usually performed with an accompanying smile, evolved from the combination of several local dance moves that originated from the southern-most part of Ghana during the early 2000s. The dance has evolved with the fast pace dance culture of modern West Africa. It is also true that before the dance became famous, youth in senior high schools of Ghana had a similar but different way of doing the dance. A modification of that is what we see today. It involved a similar movement of the feet, hands, and hips and, at the end of every move, a gun shot was mimicked with the hand and, if possible, the mouth. Azonto, when taught effectively can be learned within five minutes, according to experienced Azonto teachers.
The dance was made very popular by Ghanaian football star Asamoah Gyan in his goal celebrations for his club and during matches of the Ghana Black Stars. Azonto has been further commercialized with its inclusion in music lyrics and music video clips. Examples of such songs include African Girls by Castro, Shashewowo by Stay Jay, U Go Kill Me by Sarkodie, Wadi Mi Sika by Vibe Squad, Yenko Nkoaa by Eduwoji, Keche's Sorkode, Azonto by Fuse ODG which features Tiffany, and more recently Obuu Mo by EL, which specifically mentions the Azonto style of dance and features people dancing Azonto in the video clip. In December, 2011, the Azonto fever in Ghana was heightened when an ace Ghanaian disk jokey, DJ Black of Joy FM, released his Azonto Mix. This was a selection of popular hiplife tracks that make use of the Azonto dance rhythm. In the US, this dance is taking over the dance scene especially in colleges. Ghanaian students in Grinnell college [led by His Blackness, DJ Kojo] have been known to organize Azonto parties during the semester.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Dede Ayew Wins BBC player of the year

Ghana and Marseille winger Andre "Dede" Ayew has been named the BBC's African Footballer of the Year for 2011.
The 21-year-old took over a third of the votes to follow in the footsteps of his father, Abedi "Pele" Ayew, who won the inaugural BBC award in 1991.
Ayew beat Yaya Toure, Gervinho, Samuel Eto'o and Seydou Keita to the title.
"I'm honoured and surprised to receive this prestigious award, especially considering the great players who have won it in the past," said Ayew.

Did you know? After being named in Ghana's Africa Cup of Nations squad on Thursday, Andre's brother Jordan is in line to become the third of Abedi Pele's sons to play at the tournament

"I thank all the people who voted for me - in Ghana, in Africa and in the world.
"I'm going to work hard to show them they made a good choice."
The award was voted for by African football fans who nominated their favourites either by text or email.
They chose from a shortlist which was drawn up by football experts from every country in Africa, who based their choices on players' skill, technical ability, teamwork, consistency and fair play.
After making an impact on the international stage in 2010, when he impressed observers at both the Africa Cup of Nations and Fifa World Cup, 2011 marked a year when Ayew became a key figure at club level.
He finished the 2010-11 campaign as a regular starter for Marseille for the first time in his career, with his goal tally of 11 aiding his cause.
At the start of this season, he struck a hat-trick to help Marseille win the French Super League - and has since contested all but one of his side's 17 league games, scoring six times.
Injury ruled him out of Marseille's opening Champions League group game but the Ghanaian has gone on to miss just one minute of European action since then, as the 1993 champions reached the knockout stages.
At international level, Ayew also played a key role in ensuring that the Black Stars qualified for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations with an unbeaten record.
Abedi "Pele" Ayew was the first winner of the BBC African Sports Star of the Year award for his achievements in 1991, with the title later turning into the current BBC African Footballer of the Year award.
"Dede" becomes the fifth Ghanaian to win after his father, Sammy Kuffour (2001), Michael Essien (2006) and last year's winner Asamoah Gyan