The University of Ghana has appointed Dr Sylvanus Kwashie Kuwor as the New Acting Dean of the School of Performing Arts. Dr Kuwor is a master drummer, music, dance and theatre practitioner/scholar who lectures at the University of Ghana, Legon. He has had a decade of experience in Britain as a cultural educator where he used African drum music and dance in inclusion programmes aimed at integrating African refugees into mainstream society. He holds a Diploma in Dance Studies from the University of Ghana, Master of Arts Degree in Creative and Professional Writing from Brunel University in London, a Postgraduate Diploma in Ethnochoreology from Nowegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and a PhD in Dance Anthropology from the University of Roehampton in London.

He is a recipient of RUSH doctoral scholarship, two times recipient of Erasmus Choreomundus Visiting Scholar Grant (2015 and 2022) as well as Andrew Mellon Research Grant. He has also delivered African drumming and dance workshops in over 300 schools and institutions in the UK, USA, Canada, Norway, Hungary, South Africa and Iceland. With financial support from US Embassy in Accra, Dr Kuwor has developed an online archive for teaching African music and dance. He has written several academic articles on African drumming and dance from Ghanaian perspective. He is also the editor-in- chief of the Journal of Performing Arts at the University of Ghana. He belongs to African Transdisciplinary Research Network and leads its segment on Science and Stories. He is also a key member of International Association of Blacks in Dance and represents the West African Region. He has also served as Guest Speaker and Artist for African Diasporan associations including Noviha UK, Togo Union in London, Council of Ewe Associations in North America (CEANA) and Ghana Union in Iceland. Dr Kuwor was the Head of Department of Dance Studies at the University of Ghana from 2017 to 2022. He teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses and also supervises graduate theses. Dr Kuwor has been a visiting scholar to many universities including Binghamton University in New York, Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway, University of Szeged in Hungary, University of Iceland, Stellenbosch University in South Africa. He has also served as a Visiting Scholar to many Canadian Universities including University of Toronto, Carleton University, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraiser University, Capilano University, University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University where he spent one-year Sabbatical Leave as A Visiting Professor of African Music and Dance. His current research focuses on Anthropological investigation of Ghanaian and African dance forms as well as re-choreographing these dances to highlight their contemporary relevance. He authored a book entitled, “Agbadza dance of the Anlo-Ewe: Cultural knowledge transmission in Ghana and its representation in the Diaspora.” He also co-edited an anthology titled “The Role and Transmission of Performing arts in Rural Ghana.”

Dr Kuwor brings to this role a wealth of knowledge and experience as well as unwavering commitment to execute the responsibilities of this office with diligence, integrity, and collegiality, guided at all times by the University’s policies, procedures, and vision for academic excellence and institutional growth.