UMOJA: ‘The Spirit Of Togetherness’ In Ghana

Culture is defined as the way people live, eat and dance. The beauty of South African’s culture was brought live in Ghana at the one of the nation’s premiere centres National Theatre.

UMOJA, a South African’s music and dance theatre production is a combination of cultural, contemporary, gospel and hip performances all in one electrifying stage production. It’s a theatre production which has never been experienced in Ghana.

The word UMOJA means ‘The Spirit Of Togetherness’. Initial name for the dance was ‘Pals of Africa’, it was changed to ‘Baobab’ and renamed it UMOJA. It was believed to have come up as a result of the history behind the dance.

The UMOJA Africa is two hour show, which has certain similarities that we identify in some of our Ghanaian dances; this explains that Africans have resemblance in their culture which makes us one people with common destiny. The energy displayed by the dancers must not go unnoticed. They exhibited well choreograph dance movements coupled with excellent singing ability.

The UMOJA tells a story of Todd Twala and Thembi Nyandeni, who lived a long dream to create UMOJA. Todd grew up in a township outside Johannesburg, called George Goch. In 1968, Todd and her family woke up to a bulldozer at their front door. They were forced to leave. They then settled in Soweto (an acronym for SOuth WEstern TOwnship) on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The housing was in the form of box-like huts with no electricity or running water.

Todd met Thembi in the township of Soweto and they clicked. Even though losing contact, they both chose a career in the entertainment world as singers and dancers. They were part of a number of Black tribal musicals and toured the world from London’s West End to New York’s Broadway, across the United States, then back throughout Europe and Scandinavia, to as far down as Australia and New Zealand.

Todd and Thembi choreographed their own dance pieces, and performed in front of small audiences. These first pieces were the building blocks of UMOJA, which they named ‘Pals of Africa’ in 1982 when they started the 2-man, or rather 2-woman group. They started saving money they made after each performance into buying customs and recruiting more members. The numbers increased and the name was changed to BAOBAB, after inspiration from Hugh Masekela.

The name was again changed from Baobab to ‘UMOJA’ a name that represented what they were all about. The name has united and empowered as many as underprivileged kids as they could, giving the kids the opportunities. From 2 members, UMOJA can now boast of over 35 members with several awards to their credit.

I think UMOJA is just terrific. I can summarize it by saying it’s breathtaking. I am happy to have been part of this experience. I don’t like UMOJA, I love it.