Staging Ghana

"Staging Ghana is a valuable addition to the slowly growing body of work about dance and dance companies in contemporary Africa."—Ghana Studies

"With theory well grounded in (and balanced by) richly textured ethnography and analyses, Staging Ghana is a valuable addition to the literature in the ever-growing fields of African studies and performance studies. Its examination of nationalism, creativity, postcolonialism, culture, music, and dance give it great multidisciplinary relevance."—Anthropos

"Schauert's ethnographic overview of state dance ensembles in Ghana is based on fieldwork and collaborative artistic productions. A musician himself, Schauert . . . presents first-person narratives of creative experiments alongside excellent historical overviews of music and dance in intertwined performances of the Ghana Dance Ensemble (based at the Univ. of Ghana, Legon) and the National Dance Company of Ghana. Recommended."—Choice

"Paul Schauert's attention to the intricacies of individual motives for participation, the troupe's objectives in relationship to the nationalist project, and the role of economic reward add an important dimension to scholarly understanding of institutionalized music and dance practices in African countries."—Lisa Gilman, University of Oregon

"I have long thought that a book on the Ghana Dance Ensemble should be written. Paul Schauert's argument that nationalism becomes a resource in the performances of individual artists is strong and coherent."—Cati Coe, Rutgers University