Nani Ghanaian Traditional Music-Dance

Expect a polished, engaging, and participatory Ghanaian cultural arts experience—not simply a stage performance.

Depending on the event, a program may combine live drumming, dance, singing, storytelling, cultural history, demonstrations, audience participation, and guided learning. Programs are tailored to the age group, setting, schedule, and goals of the presenter.

School and university programs can place greater emphasis on education, cultural context, respectful participation, ensemble learning, and hands-on experiences. Festival, museum, community, and private-event programs can be more performance-centered while still giving audiences meaningful cultural context.

Each engagement is designed so audiences experience the energy and artistry of Ghanaian music and dance while also gaining a clearer understanding of the history, community, and cultural meaning connected to the traditions being presented.

Victor Nani K. Agbeli is a Ghanaian cultural arts educator, musician, dancer, ensemble director, and cultural historian whose primary cultural authority is rooted in the Anlo-Ewe traditions of Ghana’s Volta Region.

He was trained by his father, the late Godwin K. Agbeli, founder of the Dagbe Cultural Institute in Kopeyia, Ghana, and developed within a family and professional environment where music, dance, song, cultural history, and community practice were interconnected. From 1998 to 2006, Agbeli served as Head Instructor and Artistic Director at Dagbe, teaching Ghanaian cultural arts to Ghanaian and international students and study groups.

Agbeli currently serves as Lecturer in Music and Director of the West African Music Ensemble at Pomona College and as Lecturer of Music and Director of Kinkaviwo, The Ghanaian Drumming and Dancing Ensemble, at Lawrence University. He is also Founder and Artistic Director of Volta Drum Dance and has maintained an annual July teaching and performance relationship with the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA since 2011.

His professional work spans performances, school programs, university teaching, workshops, residencies, masterclasses, ensemble direction, cultural history, curriculum development, storytelling, and arts education. Engagements have included the Fowler Museum at UCLA, Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, University of Virginia/MACSEM Conference, Claremont McKenna College Athenaeum, Salisbury University, Tennessee Tech University, University of Central Missouri, CSU Long Beach, Mount Holyoke College/Five College Consortium, and other educational and cultural institutions.

In 2016, Agbeli was the cover feature and interview subject of the Percussive Arts Society’s Rhythm! Scene, and he has appeared as a special guest artist at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention.

His approach emphasizes cultural specificity, artistic quality, active participation, historical context, and respect for the communities from which the traditions come. His strongest lineage-based authority is in Anlo-Ewe traditions, while his broader professional experience also includes selected traditions from other Ghanaian communities.

PA system to help with Singing and in some cases instruments.