Dance of Joy And Sorrow- A Dance Drama Based on A Choreopraphic Intervention on the HIV And AIDS Menace In Ghana

Abstract

Dance is a social interaction that sends both intentional and unintentional messages in a variety of social contexts – and we use it as a way to socialize and to attract others. It is one of the art forms that unearths special information about an existing phenomenon within social milieu and as a medium for communication, it sends messages through kinaesthetic channels (Dosamantes, 1980). Hanna (1997) describes dance as a method that systemizes and makes explicit much of what is usually segmented and implicit. The potency of dance in communication is further enhanced by the fact that it functions as a multi-dimensional phenomenon, codifying experience in several channels simultaneously. The Dance Drama entitled “Joy and Sorrow” was first performed by the Ghana Dance Ensemble at the University of Ghana in 2005 and then staged for secondary school children in Ho in 2006. This choreographic piece was aimed at educating the society on the causes of orphans and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS particularly within the Manya Krobo area in the East of Ghana where this disease had spread considerably among the people despite the existence of Dipo Puberty rites that is an old cultural practice that warns young women about the dangers of promiscuity.