2026 Program
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Monday, May 25, 2026
8:30 AM: Dr Taiwo Afolabi
Keynote Address
9:25 AM: Timea Wharton-Suri
Keynote Address
10:20 AM: Dr. Benjamin Amakye-Boateng & John Edmundson Sam
Apatampa Drumming as Living Knowledge and Digital Heritage
10:45 AM: Kofi Anthonio PhD, Prosper Ablordey, Patience Anthonio
Embodied Archives: Unveiling Indigenous Knowledge through the Movement Practices of the Anlo-Ewe
11:10 AM: Dr Lebogang Disele-Pitso
Traditional Dance as historical archive: a reflection on ‘The Pounding Rhythm’
11:35 AM: Jackie-Wiafe Donkor
Dance Bridges: A Black Youth Leadership Project in Alberta
12:00 PM: Sagal Yusuf
Mingis: A Transgressive Spiritual, Cultural and Gendered Practice Told Through Body Movement
12:15 PM: Lunch Break
1:25 PM: Dr John Hunte
Legend to Legacy: Restoring and Revitalizing the Barbados Landship
1:50 PM: Sandra Boateng
Zion Train is Coming: Re-membering Voices of Return in Music, Memory and Diasporic Narratives
2:15 PM: Agnes Afua Nyaanyowa Adomako-Mensah
Communal Canvas: How ‘Ghana’s Most Beautiful’ Pageant Elevates Collective Artistic Expressions and Values
2:40 PM: Aniekere Inyang
Performing Identity: Mbopo Music and Dance among Ibibio Communities in Nigeria and Edmonton
3:05 PM: Dr Wisdom Agorde
Poetry as Dramatic Performance: Kofi Anyidoho’s “Memory & Vision” in Musu: The Saga of the Slaves,
3:30 PM: Gloria Ahlijah
Community as a Creative System: A Practical Transformation
3:55 PM: Miho Matsushita
Ewe Children’s Play Songs (Fefehawo) in Ghana
4:20 PM: Kafui Marcus Courage Tay
‘Vɔrsakpe’: Exploration of Worship, Embodiment, and Reconnection in the Diaspora
4:45 PM: Joel and Margaret Opoku Tham
Dancing the Court:Integrating Ghanaian Dance Practices and Movement to Enhance Body Coordination, Balance & Cooperation Among Basketball Athletes
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
8:30 AM: Nene Tetteh Wakah III
Guest Address
9:25 AM: Dr Emmanuel Cudjoe
Rethinking the Pedagogy of African Dance Forms in Higher Education: Reflections from Ball State University
10:20 AM: Adjetey Klufio
From Kinetic Experience to National Strategy: Performance, Pedagogy, and Community Praxis in Advancing National Development
10:45 AM: Eric Kwarteng
UNESCO’s Cultural Frameworks, Movement Systems, and the “Missing” SDG in National Development
11:10 AM: Gaolape Aparang Basuhi
Bodily enjoyment: traditional dance as therapy
11:35 AM: Faisal Mohammed (PhD-ABD)
Embodied Resistance, Collective Resilience: Gospel Music as Living Archive and Community Development in rural Black communities of the USA.
12:00 PM: Solomon Dartey PhD
Folkgames: A Stimulus for Promoting the SDGs among Ghanaian Diaspora in Canada
12:15 PM: Lunch Break
1:25 PM: Collette Murray
Funding Climate of African-diasporic Dance Creative
1:50 PM: Lesley Acquaah-Harrison
African Dance as Community Pedagogy for Identity, Ancestry, and Cultural Continuity
2:15 PM: Doreen Deedee Quarcoo, Latipher Amma Osei PhD, Kirk Acquah
Solemn to Soulful: Influences of Popular Dance Styles within Lighthouse Chapel-Ghana
2:40 PM: Uthman Khan
Caught in the Loop: Resonance, Entrapment, and the Anthropology of Art
3:05 PM: Venessa Farn and Papa Bangoura
Shaking the Tree: Amplifying Muted Voices Through Unconventional Performance Practices
3:30 PM: Zahra Badua
Reimagining Dance Education: African Diasporic Embodiment in Schools
3:55 PM: Mustapa Braimah
The Art of Feedback in Movement Research, Pedagogy, and Ideation Culminating Choreography and Dance-Making