Volta Ensemble

The Volta Ensemble is the cultural wing of Volta Association. It started as a drama group in March 1986. The Volta Ensemble’s first coordinator was Ms. Elizabeth Nditsi, and was assisted by Mrs. Patricia Hlorgbe Dzieketey and Mr. Rad Akorli. The Ensemble staged its first show, Hogbetsotso, June 28, 1986, in Washington, D.C.

Hogbetsotso is a festival that celebrates the people of Ewe-land after brilliantly escaping from the clutches of the iron fisted rule of King Agorkorli. It is reported that the Ewes walked backwards to outwit the King’s soldiers. Consequently a taboo was established that required that Ewes should never walk backwards. However, this taboo is broken once a year during the celebration of the festival. The Ensemble staged “Durbar in Ghana” at Kilimanjaro, a nightclub in Washington, D.C., on March 28, 1987. The story was of how a chief in Ghana would celebrate Ghana’s 30th independence anniversary. This occasion involved seven other African countries that attained independence in the early late 1950’s and early 1960s. The Ensemble then became dormant because of financial difficulties following the two performances.

In April 1989, Mr. Eric Azuma, chairman of the Volta Association, revived the Ensemble as a cultural group, with membership open to both club members and non-members. Joan Frosch-Schroder, an Associate Professor, Department of Dance, University of Maryland at College Park, became its major promoter. Eventually, she obtained a grant from the School of Performing Arts, and acquired additional drums and other accessories. The university offered its dance halls for rehearsals as well as classrooms to teach Ewe language to the children born in the United States. Reawakening the Ensemble, Mr. Azuma led it in dramatizing “Nutata“, the Coming of Age and Customary Marriage in Ghana at the Teamsters Club, Washington D.C., on August 24, 1991. He resigned his position as chairman of the club at the end of December 1991 and assumed full responsibility for the Ensemble. When Mr. William Ayenson, took office on March 15, 1992, he formally appointed Mr. Azuma as the Coordinator of the Ensemble.

The Volta Ensemble has now become a vibrant singing, drumming, and dancing group. Dances in its repertoire include Adevu, Adowa, Agbadza, Atsiagbekor, Borborbor, Gahu, Kantata, Kenka, Kpata and Yewe. Performances like (a) Dance in Contexts of Culture and Power in Urban America (b) Annual Washington Folk Festival, (c) African-American History Month (each February), (d) New Windsor International Festival, ,(e) Dance Place Family Series (f) Council of Ghanaian Associations’ Bazaar and (g) Celebrations of America Folklife.