“The biggest extinction we are experiencing is cultural”: Learn about the healing power of Nii Armah Sowah’s African Dance class at CU

Nii Armah Sowah’s African Dance class at CU Boulder has been called a lot of things: unique, immersive, spiritual, life-changing.

The associate teaching professor and co-director of graduate studies in dance is retiring – or “graduating,” as he likes to call it. Last Wednesday, May 7th, was his very last final. He’d been teaching at CU since 1997 in various capacities, started as a guest instructor or guest artist, and moved slowly and ended up in this position.

KGNU’s Jackie Sedley spoke with Nii Armah before his last final, and then attended the final. Take a listen.

Listen:

“When we get to a point in our civilization where we are so colonized that we believe dance is reserved for talented people, I come in with this idea that it is important to restore dance to its natural environment as we seek to heal the earth, as we seek to fix the coral reef, as we seek to reintroduce wolves and endangered species to nature,” said Nii Armah Sowah. “I tend to believe the biggest extinction we are experiencing is cultural, is human, and my work is geared towards restoring dance and freedom of expression to human communities.”