Akrowa UK

Be transported to Africa by dancer Adie Baako and drummer Thomas Annang. Adie and Thomas grew up near the coast in Ghana and have a lifetime of music and stories to share. There was no electricity in their village – imagine, a life without wi-fi and iPads! – so singing, drumming and dancing was often the best way to entertain yourself. Whether the dance is designed to start a party, tell the stories of farmers and fishermen or honour ancestors, audiences of all ages will enjoy the infectious drumbeats and spectacular dance moves.

Thomas Tettey Annang studied under Master Drummers Okoe Ardeyfio and the world-renowned Mustafa Tettey Addey. He was a member of the Akrowa Drum and Dance Ensemble in Ghana for nearly 10 years.
Since moving to Northern Ireland in 2009 he has performed and delivered workshops across the UK at venues too numerous to mention and festivals including WOMAD and the Edinburgh Festival. Thomas teaches at the Crescent Arts Centre (Belfast) where he has set up his own traditional African Drumming Group who regularly perform throughout Northern Ireland including the BBC NI Arts Show World Music Day at the Crumlin Road Gaol.

Adie Baako is the lead dancer with the Akrowa Drum and Dance Ensemble in Ghana. Since first visiting Scotland in 2014 he has worked for ABC Creative Music with hundreds of Scottish schoolchildren, with Thomas Annang at WOMAD and other events in Northern Ireland & has joined Sankofa Beats – an African drum & dance group based in Edinburgh.