Browsing by Author "Rashida, Resario"

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    Reclaiming cultural space through performance : the intercultural activities of the Ghana Dance Ensemble (1964-2013)
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) Rashida, Resario; Du Preez, Petrus; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Drama.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation examines the intercultural practices of the Ghana Dance Ensemble (GDE) from 1964 to 2014. Intercultural performance, often defined as an intentional artistic encounter between diverse cultural sensibilities, has become important in the increasingly globalising world. In recent decades, intercultural performance has attracted a wealth of scholarship and theoretical attempts, as theorists investigate the nature and purpose of such encounters. Such scholarship on intercultural performances has largely come from the Western world as a result of the pioneering work in ‘conscious cultural exchange’ by practitioners like Antonin Artaud, Peter Brook, Ariane Mnouchkine and others in the twentieth century and into the 21st century. While critical interculturalism has concentrated on the need for a more nuanced and balanced view of intercultural theatre practice and scholarship, it appears to have neglected intercultural practices between cultures within a nation. By investigating the intercultural activities of the Ghana Dance Ensemble, I set out to address the gap with a micro-concentration in this study. I argue that, since the diverse ethnic groups within Ghana have distinct cultural traditions and languages, interactions between these cultures at the level of performance, qualify for discussion as intercultural performance rather than Rustom Bharucha’s ‘intracultural’ performance. In order to understand the nature of the intercultural activities of the Ghana Dance Ensemble, I define the inter-ethnic performance activities of the group within the nation as micro-intercultural performance, and the international exchanges and performance activities as macro-intercultural performance. This view of inter-ethnic performance as intercultural performance at the micro-level suggests that parallels exist between discourses on intercultural practice at the macro-level, and inter-ethnic performance within the nation. Matrixing postcolonial theory and intercultural performance theory, this qualitative single-case study adopts an interpretivist paradigm to examine both the micro- and macro-intercultural performance activities of the GDE. Through discourse analysis, I examine the historical conditions that led to the formation of the GDE and how macro-intercultural issues of power relations, ethics of representation and cultural hegemony find resonances at the micro-level due to ethnic differences. Furthermore, the GDE’s position as a postcolonial product cannot be overlooked when discussing its external relations; exchanges and festival participation, with imperialistic cultures that have a tendency of ‘othering’ foreign cultures. The ethnic diversity of the GDE and its multi-ethnic repertoire of dances, and musical and vocal styles, present a utopian view of the nation as a perfect example of the concept of unity in diversity. However, the reality of ethnic difference, as experienced and performed by the members of the GDE, fractures this utopian view of the company and the nation at large. In its fifty years’ existence the GDE, with its micro-intercultural performance practices, has succeeded in bringing diverse indigenous cultural traditions of Ghana to Ghanaians for mutual appreciation, even as the members work through their own internal ethnic differences. The study also reveals that, while the GDE exercises its own form of agency in macro-intercultural encounters, the company is not shielded from the hegemonic constructs with which its European partners approach the exchange. That notwithstanding, there seems to be a meeting ground between the GDE’s focus on authenticity and that of international festival organisers. While the GDE by design promotes authentic Ghanaian cultural traditions, festival organisers ride on such authentic traditions to promote their events. This study contributes to scholarship on intercultural performance by concentrating on micro-level encounters and drawing parallels between encounters at the macroand micro-levels. It concludes that micro-level intercultural performance may hold the key to addressing ethical issues in macrolevel intercultural performance discourse.