Maputo Mensah
- Director, West African Highlife Ensemble
- WORLD MUSIC ENSEMBLES
, N1B78
Maputo Mensah was born and raised in Accra, Ghana, in a family of professional musicians and dancers. While still a small child, he was dancing and drumming with his family and before he reached his teens, he was teaching and performing these traditional Ghanaian arts professionally.
Later, he was honored to study for many years with Mustapha Tettey Addy, one of Ghana鈥檚 premiere artists in traditional music and dance, at the Academy of African Music and Arts. Over the years, Mensah performed and taught with various dance troupes such as the Akrowa Cultural Ensemble in Kokrobite and the West African Folkloric Troupe in Accra. He also has broad experience as an international performer and currently performs with his own dance troupe, Logo Ligi, based in 麻豆影院, Colorado.
Maputo is an accomplished master of the African performing arts鈥攄ancing, drumming, singing and storytelling鈥攁nd he鈥檚 passionate about sharing the art and culture of Ghana and Africa with the West through the classes he teaches at CU 麻豆影院, the University of Denver, K-12 schools and community classes. He also leads a month-long trip to his native Ghana each summer, offering students the opportunity to deeply experience the culture he is devoted to preserving and promoting. Additionally, he is developing a new cultural center in Kokrobite, Ghana, to teach West African performing arts to local and international students, and established artists.
Mensah is a world-class artist, a much-loved teacher and an ambassador for the culture he cherishes.