"Lights Out"

I've decided to learn a local dance from Ghana, to bring back to teach my students in NYC! My friends in Asokore only wanted the best teacher for me...so contacted the "royal family" of Asokore, where the children learn at a young age to dance the traditional dances of Ghana. They are known as the royal family since their mother has been named queen of their village, something passed down from generation to generation.

I spent my first dance class mainly watching the 2 kids....one boy and one girl, ages 18 and 15. They make it look so easy, so I thought "how hard could this really be?". Well, I was quickly mistaken...trying to count the beats on my feet with the offbeat of my arms....frustration took over quickly....and decided that the first dance class would be shorter than expected! Though, the fact that we had no electricity didn't help the situation, since no music could be heard, instead, using a make shift instrument of two spoons to catch the beat of the song.

I was happy to meet electricity yesterday in Asokore, since that meant we could actually dance to the cassette instead of my friend's two spoons. I forgot almost all of what I learned a few days before, but somehow managed to quickly get it back. The counting wasn't as difficult as the first day. I realized that if I don't think too much about the counting, the beats, etc....the dance will somehow come to me....somehow take over me...which it did! I think my teacher, who by the way doesn't speak English..so that's a challenge in itself...was surprised to see an "obroni" dancing their traditional dance as well as I did! I was getting into the beat, really allowing myself to take in the music and put sway and motion into the movements...things seemed too good to be true: I was actually dancing to the beat and the electricity was still going!....Well..all good things eventually come to an end...since at a second's notice, the cassette went off and the room was left silent. "Lights out in Asokore", shouted a nearby neighbor! Meaning..the goverment cuts off the electricity...with no notice..just like that. You never really know when it's going to happen. So...as most things go in Ghana..you just go with the moment. One second you have electricity...the next you don't, something people here are far too used to dealing with. (though, in Kumasi I"ve yet to have "lights out!")

So...my class is to be continued..hopefully I didn't forget what I learned so far..and hopefully my next lesson will give me more electricity time than the previous one!

p.s....one always knows when the lights come back in Asokore..since their is always a group like cheer from the little kids which could be heard from a mile away! :) The colorful and cheerful sound almost makes the lights out worth dealing with!