Nana Korantema Ayeboafo
Artistic Director
Among her many activities and responsibilities, Nana Korantema Ayeboafo is the
spiritual leader of the Akan tradition in North America, and she is the chief
executive of the nonprofit StarSpirit International, based in Philadelphia and in
Larteh, Ghana. She is an active performer, teacher, and healer.
GET THE NEW 2011 CD!
THE MUSIC FOR THE HOT NEW AFRICAN LINE DANCE
SALAAM ALEKUM!
CD Track 1- Salaam Alekum - Collective Dance for Peace (10:36)
Featuring Nana Korantema Ayeboafo, Female Master Drummer, as a solo performer recording
music from the Arthur Hall repertoire on six recording tracks:
Djembe drums on 2 tracks, the Gyamadudu drum on 1 track, the Wasawasa (shakers) on 1
track, the Adawuru (bells) on 2 tracks], and singing on 4 tracks, while accompanied on
another track by the singers Kweku Menu Opare and Kwame Asuo Opare.
On a final track, Nana calls out the dance steps for The Collective Dance for Peace,
an African line dance serving as a Tribute to the Legacy of Arthur Hall. This song was
accompanied by a signature dance performed by the Arthur Hall Afro American Dance Ensemble
under the direction of Arthur Hall.
CD Track 2- Remembering Arthur Hall (6:39)
Featuring the original poetry of Melvin Purnell in an original musical composition by
Nana Korantema Ayeboafo performed live in New York City with the African Ensemble.
Spoken Word: Aba Oyedi
Musicians/Sekere Players: Nana Korantema Ayeboafo, Darryl Kwasi Burgee,
Steven Jackson, Rita Johnson, Joseph Bryant Bey
Singers: Nana Kofi Asante, Kwame Asuo Opare, Kweku Menu Opare, Nana Kwame Opare
CD Track 3- Salaam Alekum Instrumental (10:35)
This is the instrumental version of the first track, without the calling out of the dance steps.
Learn the dance moves by watching the YouTube video
Buy this new CD $10.00
In addition, over the past few years,
among other things:
Nana Korantema is also both the artistic director and the unifying force behind
the renaissance of the Arthur Hall Afro American Dance Ensemble Alumni in Philadelphia
and of Ile Ife Films and the Arthur Hall Collection in Maine. Her long association
with Arthur Hall and her profound knowledge of traditional West African cultures
make her uniquely qualified to realize a Renaissance on Sacred Ground.
Nana entered the doors of the Ile Ife Center in North Philadelphia as a teenager
and worked with Arthur Hall for many years as a singer, drummer, and dancer and also,
eventually,as a music director and a concert manager. She travelled with the Dance
Ensemble on their historic tour of West Africa in 1974, where the company was received by
Nana Akua Oparebea, the Okomfohene at the Akonnedi
Shrine in Larteh, Ghana.
Arthur Hall being received by
Nana Okomfohene Akua Oparebea
Larteh, Ghana, 1974
Nana Akua Oparebea encouraged Arthur (with his newly bestowed Akan name, Nana Afo)
and Nana Korantema to establish a traditional West Arfrican shrine in Philadelphia.
The Asona Aberade Shrine was originally consecrated on the third floor of the Ile Ife
Black Humanitarian Center, 2544 Germantown Avenue, and remained there for many years.
In 1977, it became the first traditional West African shrine to be officially
recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and under the careful stewardship of
Nana Korantema, the Asona Aberade Shrine remains a stong and beneficial part of the
community to this day.
The third floor landing of the Ile Ife Center
(BBWms photo, c. 1980)
Nana Korantema returned to study in Larteh and became an Okomfo in 1978. She remained
in Ghana for a total of seven years of rigorous study with Nana Okomfohene
Akua Oparebea, a tutilage which would eventually stretch to over twenty years.
In 1981 she was appointed the official Okomfo representative for the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, and in 2002, Nana Korantema became Nana Akomfohene Korantema Ayeboafo,
the spiritual head of the Akan tradition in all of North America.
This is an unprecedented story. Nana Korantema is one of the first African American
to undergo such centuries-old training. She has gained extensive knowledge of the Akan
culture, its rites and protocols, its traditional music, song, drumming, and dance, and
she is now the living representative of Nana Okomfohene Akua Oparebea.
Nana Okomfohene Akua Oparebea
StarSpirit International promotes education about African culture and facilitates international
cultural exchanges, and it sponsors health, education, and economic development projects.
A charitable nonprofit, StarSpirit International also includes the StarSpirit Press,
which publishes and distributes books and CDs, including:
50 Years and Counting
The Legendary Art and Genius of Arthur Hall
By Barbara C. Wallace
(2008, StarSpirit Press, Philadelphia)
Celebrating the Life of
Nana Akomfohene Akua Oparebea
By Nana Akomfohene Korantema Ayeboafo
(2006, StarSpirit Press, Philadelphia)
African Shamans and Ancient Shrines
By Barbara C. Wallace
(2008, StarSpirit Press, Philadelphia)
The Greatest Love
Nana Korantema Ayeboafo's
Solo Studio Mix
Sawpaa (4:53)
Mapampa (5:48)
Atinae (4:55)
Ghana Highlife (3:37)
Sekere Solo (2:45)
Alignment
Nana Korantema Ayeboafo
and the African Ensemble
Won Ba Aye (6:30)
Dondo Swing (8:19)
High Life (6:28)
Mpampa (8:19)
Drum Dirge (8:43)
Renaissance on Sacred Ground
Narration and music by Nana Korantema Ayeboafo
(AHC DVD, 2008)
View with Quick Time Player
StarSpirit Press
Index of the Alumni subdirectory
Email Starspirit International