By Ernest Nutsugah
Accra, Dec. 23, GNA – Ghanaian folktale, music, dance, and invigorating cultural performances, synchronised seamlessly as Lododo Art Foundation marked its annual end of year storytelling event dubbed “Bronya Apata” in Accra.
Audience from all age brackets gathered at the JH Nketia Archives at the University of Ghana, Legon, to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the show themed: “Building Bridges to Our Expected Tomorrow”.
The interactive two-and-half hour show generated meaningful conversations and deepened social bonds with Dr. Sarah Dorgbadzi Ossei, the event lead and Founder of Lododo Arts, who took guests on a voyage of memorable narratives, rooted in the Ghanaian heritage.
Transitioning from one act to another, the stories reflected themes such as humility, greed and cheating, being watchful and strategic, and naturing healthy relationships.
The highlight of the night was the appearance of the flagbearer of Ghana’s ‘Seperewa’ Tradition, Musician Mr. Osei Korankye, whose soothing renditions had guest singing along and asking for more compositions from his repertoire.
Speaking to GNA after the show, Dr. Dorgbadzi Osei, also a Senior Lecture at the Theater Arts Department of the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana, highlighted the essence of preserving indigenous storytelling tradition.
“The whole idea behind this initiative is to make it available to the young people the value and beauty of Ghanaian culture they are missing out on,” she explained.
The Founder expressed satisfaction about the progress of the show since its inception and urged other stakeholders to come on board.
“Storytelling is one of the art forms that has not been tampered with by colonialism…It is a way of expressing ourselves that we need to salvage because it is becoming endangered…
“It is important that we invest in storytelling; it has been neglected and I think we should go back to it,” she stated.
The academic also called for support for the performing arts sector which has the potential of contributing to economic growth.
“The journey ahead is long and tedious but the end is glorious… Storytelling can be a major tourist attraction, let’s not look down on it,” she added.
Nana Fredua Agyeman Ofori-Atta, Board Chair, National Theatre of Ghana, congratulated Lododo Art Foundation for sustaining the event through the years, and called for collaboration to help take the event to greater heights.
He also emphasised inculcating the values of storytelling and its positive morals in children.
“We need a larger audience; storytelling is important for both children and adults, and we need to do more of it for people to experience…we need to take it to the next level,” he said.
Madam Janet Sunkwa Mills, Marketing Consultant and a Judge on Ghana’s Most Beautiful Reality Show on TV3, graced the occasion and stressed the importance of preserving storytelling as one of the many Ghanaian and African inheritance.
Other guests shared their experience and impact of the memorable event and celebration, which generated positive feedback.
GNA