'Elizabeth Opoku-Dakwa is a junior at Principia College, Illinois, studying Economics and Sociology. At Principia, Elizabeth has contributed to the community by being on the B.S.U board and participating in community service programs that help the homeless. Dancing, however, has always been one of Elizabeth's passions and it is through this that she has contributed to the community the most. Elizabeth has participated in the annual Dance Production at the Principia College for the past two years. Last year she was featured in other people’s choreography but this year she had the opportunity to choreograph her own piece and select her own dancers.
She has been dancing and performing since she was six—from Christ the King International School where she attended middle school and junior high to Wesley Girls’ High School where she attended senior high. Throughout the years, her passion for hip-hop dance has grown albeit without any formal dance training. In her younger years, her parents tried to get her interested in ballet and even enrolled her at a ballet academy but soon she realized that her passion lay not with ballet but with hip-hop. She draws inspiration from some of hip hop's finest dancers-- past and present-- the likes of which include Aaliyah, Janet Jackson and Ciara. Now, she would like to explore other dance forms like modern dance, contemporary dance and ballroom dancing and you can look forward to seeing a mixture of these genres in her next piece for 2010.
In this year’s production, and her debut choreographing role at Principia, she presented “FIRE”, a piece that expresses a personal breakthrough in her life. The piece illustrates a trascension from the oppressive chains that bind us in life. It communicates a disturbing but real representation of the common struggles we all go through while breaking away from an abusive relationship, cyclical addiction or any destructive influences that appear to dominate us. The lead is an individual bombarded by an addictive history (represented as the devil and his subjects) but through the grace and power of Good and her inner strength (represented as the angel) she is able to eventually break free. The themes in this piece progress from vulnerability, confusion, self doubt, and fear to manipulation, mesmerism, addiction, and abuse to internal conflicts and finally enlightenment, and the solace one finds in good overcoming evil.
Songs
‘Bust Your Windows’—Jazmine Sullivan,
‘Bad Man’—Missy Elliot feat. Vybez Cartel and M.I.A
‘Money in the Bank’—Swizz Beatz
‘Angel’—Natasha Bedingfield
Cast List
Principal Victim (Lead)—E LIZABETH OPOKU-DAKWA
Devil—KALO SEMITI (co-choreographer)
Devil’s Subjects—KATIE HUEFFNER, DENISE LEIGH, MONA-LISA MILLS, JODI PRATT, NINA FRANSISCO
Angel—OYINTARI ABORO (improvised choreography)'
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1 comment:
Could Elizabeth be GH's next Laurie Ann Gibson...?!? And add some spice to GH Music Videos...?!?! Hmmm,.. some food for thought! :-) Nice dance piece... Love the part with the Angel... :-)
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