• Contact Info

Mensah, Maputo Ayuba

Assistant Teaching Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • My research and expertise centers on traditional and fusion forms of African dance, drumming, storytelling, and cultural studies, as well as other forms of dance such as hip-hop and samba. In this country, I frequently collaborate with artists in a variety of dance and drumming disciplines, learning from them, and when I am in Ghana each year, I do independent study with world-class artists there, to expand my own knowledge of the African performing arts and be able to offer my RAP students a truly global perspective. I have also recently built a cultural center in Kokrobite, Ghana, whose mission is to keep the traditional arts of Africa alive and transmit them to future generations. My faculty there consists of talented and nationally and internationally experienced members of the Akrowa Dance Ensemble, with whom I collaborate and learn as well. All this I share with my RAP students.

keywords

  • African dance, African drumming, African culture, dance, drumming, ethnic studies, storytelling, cultural studies

Teaching

courses taught

  • DNCE 2501 - African Dance
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Fall 2018 / Spring 2019 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2020 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2022 / Fall 2022 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2023 / Spring 2024 / Fall 2024
    Explores the technique, styles, and rhythms of regional and national cultures of Africa. Areas of concentration may vary each semester (e.g. Ghana, Mali, Guinea, etc.). Introduces signature attributes common to different countries' dance traditions and features discussions of the musical traditions, histories, cosmologies, philosophies and aesthetics to contextualize and increase familiarity. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.
  • DNCE 5501 - Graduate African Dance
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2020
    Explores the technique, styles and rhythms of regional and national cultures of Africa by introducing signature attributes common to different countries' dance traditions. Features discussions of the musical traditions, histories, cosmologies, philosophies and aesthetics to contextualize and increase familiarity. Areas of concentration may vary by each semester (e.g. Ghana, Guinea, Intermediate). May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.
  • EMUS 1467 - World Music Ensemble
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Fall 2018 / Spring 2019 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2020 / Fall 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2022 / Fall 2022 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2023 / Spring 2024 / Fall 2024
    Study and performance of musics of diverse cultures in the United States, including Native American, Latin American, African American and Asian American, as well as music from the mother cultures of these groups. Same as EMUS 3467 and EMUS 5467.
  • EMUS 3467 - World Music Ensemble
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Fall 2018 / Spring 2019 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2020 / Fall 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2022 / Fall 2022 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2023 / Spring 2024 / Fall 2024
    Study and performance of musics of diverse cultures in the United States, including Native American, Latin American, African American and Asian American, as well as music from the mother cultures of these groups. Same as EMUS 1467 and EMUS 5467.
  • EMUS 5467 - World Music Ensemble
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2024
    Study and performance of musics of diverse cultures in the United States, including Native American, Latin American, African American and Asian American, as well as music from the mother cultures of these groups. Same as EMUS 1467 and EMUS 3467.

International Activities