 Nana
Ajaywa Anan
Founder/Director,
Dance to a Different Drum dance theatre productions
aJAYwa! & the AnCestral Funk Collective
ajaywa@yahoo.com
(404)758-7601
Nana Agyeiwaah Anan has been teaching (since 1987) and performing
professionally since 1984; on Georgia Council for the Arts Teaching
Artist roster since 1995; and performing/teaching artist for Young
Audiences of Atlanta, a division of the Woodruff Arts Center, since
2000. She is founder/director of Dance To A Different Drum dance
theatre productions (1998), and performing company aJAYwa! &
the AnCestral Funk Collective (a!AFC) (2002), a collective of multi-talented
musicians, percussionists, vocalists, and dancers telling stories
using traditional African/African-American art forms to funky music.
Nana is known as an extremely creative, energetic and expressive
artist, authoring and performing a variety of literary forms with
African/African-American traditional music and dance in a theatrical
context. She is an excellent teaching artist who raises the self-esteem
of her students. Her lively interactive performances/residencies
are very popular in schools, museums and libraries throughout Georgia;
and she is author of several dance theatre productions (see Performances
below), residencies, and two audio recordings, "Hooked On Rhythm",
and "Sing-along Songs, Tell-along Stories, & Do-along Dances".
Workshops
African Dance & Music -
from around the world make history and social studies fun! (all
ages)
smART stART - this is a residency,
inspired by Young Audiences of Atlanta and Smart Start Georgia focused
on teaching literacy awareness for pre-k and kindergarten youth
using the arts as a primary medium.
Relationship Awareness - this
workshop is a perfect compliment to "Against My Will",
creating a safe space for exploration of contemporary issues affecting
violence against women. (pre-teen - adult)
Performances
American Fruits with African Roots
- original and ancestral stories of African/African-American history
and culture made fun (5 - pre-teen)
Sing-along Songs, Tell-along Stories & Do-along Dances
- this is a very popular and highly interactive music and storytelling
performance with fun songs, fun stories, and fun dances for all!
(all ages)
"Against My Will"
- a one-woman play that breaks the silence surrounding the far-reaching
affects of violence against women (pre-teen - adult)
"Let's Pull Together"
- a story, (featuring an adaptation of The Hip Cat, written by children's
author Johnathan London) about a!AFC's trip to Guinea, WEST AFRICA's
Kakilambe harvest festival. The audience meets all the characters
they encountered along the way, through jazz, soul, R&B, funk,
go-go, rap, with dance, poetry, characterization, storytelling,
audience participation, belting lyrics and rockin' tunes, to educate
and entertain. (ages 7 & up)
Cookin' It Up At the Poetry Spot: Food
for Thought - aJAYwa! & the AnCestral Funk Collective
Nana's serves a healthy helping of food for thought with her exceptionally
creative mix of live spoken word poetry, song, dance and hot funky
music. (pre-teen - adult)
Sound Recordings
"Hooked On Rhythm"
Agyeiwaah's smooth contralto voice lusciously layered over smooth
groove tracks that make your foot tap, head bob, and fingers snap,
but as Agyeiwaah warns on the popular "You Don't Hear Me, Though"
(about the importance of living your dreams) "don't get so
caught up in the flow, you don't hear me, though".
"Sing-along Songs, Tell-along Stories
& Do-along Dances"
A jammin' CD with African rhythms, funky nursery rhymes, stories
and songs, like "Sista Rosa Parks"; "How Ibou Made
My Drum"; and the ever popular "Fanga" song, complete
with the history of Fanga's author/choreographer, Dr. Pearl Primus.
Funky. Fun. Educational. For the whole family!
Samples
Click here for
Audio Clip 1
Click here for
Audio Clip 2
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