Adowa is a dance by the

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan languages, a language group within the wider Central Tano languages *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano language ...

people of

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. It is a popular traditional dance in

and it is performed at cultural ceremonies like festivals, funerals, engagements, and celebrations. The Adowa dance is a sign of expression that allows performers to communicate their emotions and feelings through their hands and feet. There are different hand movements performed for each setting. People communicate positive emotions at weddings or engagements and

negative emotion In psychology, negative affectivity (NA), or negative affect, is a personality variable that involves the experience of negative emotions and poor self-concept. Negative affectivity subsumes a variety of negative emotions, including anger, contem ...

s at funerals. An Adowa ensemble consists of a lead singer, a chorus, and percussion instruments. The leader and chorus are almost always middle-aged women, who accompany themselves with hand-clapping and/or a double bell (''dawure'') or a single bell (''atoke'').

Movements

Adowa dancers use symbolic language, with different hand movements telling their own story. This body language is accentuated by the use of a white cloth that they hold in their hand. In performing Adowa'','' the dancers mainly utilize their hands and feet. There are basic steps to this dance style. The performer first has to apply pressure and move his or her right foot forward. While performing, the dancer also ensures that there is an interaction with the drummer that is not obvious.

References

{{reflist African dances Culture of Ghana Ghanaian dances