The Akrowa Drum and Dance Ensemble

The Story

A Legacy of Ga Music and Dance

Since their formation in 1989 at the legendary Mustapha Tettey Addy’s Academy of African Music and Arts (AAMA), the Akrowa Drum and Dance Ensemble has performed their definitive version of Ga music and dance at Ghana’s most significant occasions and for the most important foreign dignitaries, including American president Barack Obama.

Hundreds of musicians from around the world, including Stevie Wonder, Isaac Hayes, and Rita Marley, made the pilgrimage to Kokrobite to study and collaborate with Akrowa.

While they were at AAMA, hundreds of musicians and dancers from around the world made the pilgrimage to Kokrobite in order to study and collaborate with Akrowa, drawn by Akrowa’s neo-traditional style, a uniquely African take on the well-known 3/2 clave found in Latin, rock, and soul music.

AAMA no longer functions as it once did, but today Akrowa makes up the foundational staff at the Akpe Cultural Centre, continuing their joyful mission to provide world-class instruction in the African performing arts to seasoned professionals, interested newcomers, and local kids alike.