Dance in Africa expresses similar feelings, not only of worship but also of social communication: supplication, passionate relational feelings and even transitional life stages, as persons move from one stage of maturity to another. It also communicates virtues, values and even teachings about social manners that are used to help individuals mature and celebrate.
In Africa what we call cultural or social dance are movements that embody our cultural values and standards. Each cultural dance has a story that reflects certain values or beliefs and thus go beyond merely learning different types of moves.
One of the major names that pops on the lips of many in Africa especially in Ghana when it comes to dance and choreography is Van Calebs.
Van Calebs is a personality that anyone who truly knows how to use music and dance to relax his or her mind, should try to know.
He is a dancer, choreographer and teacher. Van Calebs is considered a major figure in contemporary African dance. At 31, the Ghanaian keeps on dancing, creating and promoting African and contemporary dance, through training, shows.
For several years, Van Calebs has contributed to the training of several dancers in Africa and the West. The Ghanian has participated in making African dance known internationally. Together with his crew, he is the founder of the “Van Calebs Empire” in Ghana, which has been training dancers since 2013.
Van Calebs is one of Africa most renowned dancers and choreographers. Van has placed himself as an internationally acclaimed choreographer known to deconstruct the all-time classic ballets into powerfully grounded cultural dance, that tell a story.
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Born in 1991 in Ghana, Van Calebs was brought up in the outskirts of Volta Region in a suburb called Agbozume. Little is known about Van upbringing and childhood years, except that his beginnings in the dance world started at a very young age.
His interest for choreographic creation was ignited when he watched his mentor Mikhail Baryshnikov. It was these moments that he promised himself that he would one day choreograph his own versions of dance movements. This was only the beginning of a rising star.
Van Calebs caught the eyes of French ambassador for cultural exchange, which prompted the French Embassy to sponsor his trip to France for a dance events. The ambassador once said in his interview: “The first thing that impressed me about him was his incredible focus.
“I was watching him while he was watching a dance performance. She obviously loved what he was watching but did so with extraordinary focus and concentration. On stage he commands an amazing sense of theater. It is a world with which he is completely at home.”
Van has grown his brand steadily from the scratch as he is now the founder of the Walking Stick Foundation which is a not-for-profit organization set up to undertake philanthropic projects.
His adeptness as a cultural dance and choreograph instructor has seen him receive multiple recognitions for spearheading the growth of indigenous Ghanaian dance.
He initiated the dance move titled Rock body used by Noella Wiyaala, a Ghanaian Afro-pop singer-songwriter (popularly know as Wiyaala).
Van Calebs’ dance move called illuminate dance which was used in the music video of Ghanaian rapper, songwriter, and entrepreneur, Michael Owusu Addo known professionally as Sarkodie’s gave the music more accolades.
Van Calebs is currently been credited for helping to redefine choreography dance in Ghana.
He is seen amongst his peers as one of the greatest dancer in Africa’s history because his dance movements are self-originated and have now form part of educational materials for learning in creative schools especially in Ghana.
One of his originated movement dance called Base has been printed as an art monumental pieces in National Museum of Ghana.
Van is passionate about helping young people thrive, educating the world about African cultures through dance, and giving back to African countries through hid philanthropy.
He was described by Forbes as “a african creative visionary”. He has always made choreography dance a key part of his work. He holds dance workshops for African children and has founded homes for at-risk and displaced people in Nigeria and Ghana.
Anita Chukwumfumnaya Obidi popularly known as Korra Obidi is also another name making waves in continent of Africa. She was the recipient of an AFRIMMA nomination for the Best Dancer in 2017. She performed in the Basketball Africa League 2017/2018 season. She was a contestant in the 2019 edition of the American talent show, So You Think You Can Dance while heavily pregnant. She started her dance career in 2007, featuring in a song by Nigerian female rapper Sasha P.
and then