Adzido Pan African Dance Company
Dance Costume
1999 (made)
1999 (made)
Costume worn by a dancer from Adzido Pan African Dance Ensemble.
The second part of the Adzogbo dance from Benin, West Africa, the Atsia, allows the men to show off their agility, toughness and virtuosity. As Adzido’s book, Traditional Dances of Sub-Saharan Africa (2003) explains, ‘Some of the movements, such as the presentation of arms, wrestling and boxing, wooden horse leaps and bayonet charges are all motifs from the arms drill of the French Colonial soldiers.’
This costume appeared in Adzido's 1999-2001 production, Sankofa, where the Adzogbo was used to finish the show.
The skirt is made of printed cotton textiles known as Ankara, African-print cloth or Dutch wax, which have been fashionable in West and East Africa since the late 19th century. Ankara as a textile is historically rooted in colonial global trade, as Europeans replicated Indonesian batik and began to export wax fabrics across Africa. Production began to shift to Africa in the 20th century, and Ankara has been used over the years as a signifier of the continent.
The second part of the Adzogbo dance from Benin, West Africa, the Atsia, allows the men to show off their agility, toughness and virtuosity. As Adzido’s book, Traditional Dances of Sub-Saharan Africa (2003) explains, ‘Some of the movements, such as the presentation of arms, wrestling and boxing, wooden horse leaps and bayonet charges are all motifs from the arms drill of the French Colonial soldiers.’
This costume appeared in Adzido's 1999-2001 production, Sankofa, where the Adzogbo was used to finish the show.
The skirt is made of printed cotton textiles known as Ankara, African-print cloth or Dutch wax, which have been fashionable in West and East Africa since the late 19th century. Ankara as a textile is historically rooted in colonial global trade, as Europeans replicated Indonesian batik and began to export wax fabrics across Africa. Production began to shift to Africa in the 20th century, and Ankara has been used over the years as a signifier of the continent.
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Our Theatre and Performance collection includes props and costumes from many iconic moments in the history of circus, dance, drama, film, opera, pantomime, popular music – and much more. Often these objects played their part in a spectacular visual and auditory experience, but when display...
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Conserving an Adzido Pan African Dance Costume
In this ASMR video, watch and listen as Senior Textile Conservator Susana Fajardo works on a pair of colourful raffia leg wraps. These were part of a costume worn by a dancer from the Adzido Pan African Dance Company between 1999 – 2001.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 7 parts.
|
| Title | Adzido Pan African Dance Company (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Ankara print cotton, with dyed straw and cord leg pieces |
| Brief description | Seven-part costume for a dancer of the Adzogbo in Sankofa, presented by Adzido Pan African Ensemble, 1999-2001 |
| Gallery label | Gallery rotation, 2022
COSTUME WORN BY A DANCER FROM ADZIDO PAN AFRICAN DANCE ENSEMBLE
1999
Made with colourful West African ‘Ankara’ print fabric, this costume was worn for the Adzogbo, a dance from Benin. The Adzogbo shows off men’s agility, toughness and virtuosity. This dance was the climax of Sankofa, the 1999 production by Adzido. Active from 1984 until 2004, Adzido was the UK’s only large-scale black dance company presenting traditional African song and dance.
Cotton and dyed straw
Given by Adzido Pan African Dance Ensemble
Museum no. S.806:1 to 7-2017(07/03/2022) |
| Credit line | Given by Adzido Pan African Dance Ensemble |
| Object history | Collection given by Adzido Pan African Dance Ensemble. |
| Summary | Costume worn by a dancer from Adzido Pan African Dance Ensemble. The second part of the Adzogbo dance from Benin, West Africa, the Atsia, allows the men to show off their agility, toughness and virtuosity. As Adzido’s book, Traditional Dances of Sub-Saharan Africa (2003) explains, ‘Some of the movements, such as the presentation of arms, wrestling and boxing, wooden horse leaps and bayonet charges are all motifs from the arms drill of the French Colonial soldiers.’ This costume appeared in Adzido's 1999-2001 production, Sankofa, where the Adzogbo was used to finish the show. The skirt is made of printed cotton textiles known as Ankara, African-print cloth or Dutch wax, which have been fashionable in West and East Africa since the late 19th century. Ankara as a textile is historically rooted in colonial global trade, as Europeans replicated Indonesian batik and began to export wax fabrics across Africa. Production began to shift to Africa in the 20th century, and Ankara has been used over the years as a signifier of the continent. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.806:1 to 7-2017 |
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| Record created | July 6, 2017 |
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