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 published several books in association with Dr. Barbara Wallace
  • she released two CDs
  • she produced two concerts with the Arthur Hall Afro American Dance Ensemble Alumni
  • she narrated and provided the music for the Arthur Hall Collection DVD Renaissance on Sacred Ground
  • in 2008 she received a prestigious Pew Fellowship in the Arts.

    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

    In 1999, Nana Korantema founded StarSpirit International, based in Philadelphia and in Larteh.
    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

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