A quiet stage, a single performer, and the slow rhythm of memory were enough to hold an entire audience spellbound during a recent performance at the Palais de la Culture, where Ethiopian dancer Elsa “Zema” Mulder presented her deeply personal contemporary dance work Unravel.

The performance formed part of the Market for African Performing Arts, an international gathering that brings artists, producers, and cultural leaders together to spotlight the continent’s evolving stage productions.

Inside the venue’s Salle Kojo Ebouclé, Mulder delivered a restrained yet emotionally charged piece exploring identity, memory, and the complex realities of international adoption.

Conceived and performed by Mulder, Unravel draws inspiration from the Ethiopian Buna coffee ceremony, a communal ritual that traditionally symbolises hospitality and social connection.

In Mulder’s choreography, the ceremony becomes something more symbolic: a thread connecting past and present, homeland and distance, memory and absence.

From the opening moments, the performance adopts an almost ritualistic pace. Mulder’s movements are slow, precise, and deliberately controlled, inviting the audience into an intimate emotional space rather than overwhelming them with spectacle.

Long pauses and measured gestures suggest both longing and reflection, allowing the themes of displacement and belonging to surface gradually.

The work’s emotional depth is heightened by the original musical score composed by Cheikh Ibrahim Thiam, whose soundscape blends layered textures with sparse, fragile notes. The music shifts between subtle rhythmic patterns and near silence, echoing the performer’s physical journey through fragments of memory and identity.

Together, the choreography and music build a multidimensional narrative that avoids easy explanations. Rather than presenting adoption as a simple story of loss or rescue, Mulder approaches the subject through the body’s memory—how experiences of separation and relocation linger long after childhood.

The performance also resists conventional storytelling. Instead of a clear beginning, middle and end, Unravel unfolds through symbolic gestures and emotional fragments. The dancer’s body becomes the site where absence, history, and identity intersect.

At times, the work’s quiet introspection challenges viewers unfamiliar with the cultural references woven into the performance. Yet the sincerity of Mulder’s delivery keeps the audience engaged, revealing moments of vulnerability that resonate across cultures.

For festivals like the Market for African Performing Arts, works such as Unravel demonstrate the growing global reach of African contemporary dance. Artists across the continent are increasingly using performance to explore themes of migration, heritage and identity—subjects that connect deeply with modern audiences.

By the end of the performance, the stage remains quiet, but the questions linger: What does it mean to belong to a place one barely remembers? And how does identity evolve when memory itself feels incomplete?

Mulder offers no simple answers. Instead, Unravel invites viewers to sit with the tension between loss and reconstruction—an experience that continues long after the final movement fades.

The search for Ghana’s next cultural ambassador is about to begin. In Accra this April, confident young women will step forward to compete in the fifth season of Miss Akwaaba, a pageant that blends beauty with heritage, storytelling, and tourism advocacy.

For thirteen weeks, contestants will be immersed in a journey that celebrates the country’s traditions while preparing them to represent Ghana on a global stage.

Organised by Ceejay Multimedia in partnership with Tour Motherland Ventures in the United States, the competition has steadily grown into one of Ghana’s most culture-focused pageants.

Auditions for Season 5 will run from April 20 to April 25 at the Ceejay TV Studios, where aspiring contestants will present not just poise and talent, but also their knowledge of Ghana’s customs, languages, and tourism destinations.

Unlike conventional pageants, Miss Akwaaba places culture at the centre of the competition. Participants are encouraged to explore Ghana’s diverse traditions—from storytelling and indigenous fashion to music, dance, and the country’s historic landmarks.

The aim is to produce ambassadors who can confidently introduce Ghana’s heritage to the world.

That mission has resonated with audiences in recent years. Previous seasons have highlighted the country’s cultural wealth while giving young women the opportunity to grow as leaders and advocates.

The stakes are high this year, too. The reigning queen from the previous season drove home in a brand-new car and received a cash prize of GH¢10,000, signalling how the pageant rewards both talent and dedication.

Beyond the competition itself, the event has become a meeting point for Ghana’s creative and tourism sectors. Supporters of the project include Dodi World, one of the country’s best-known leisure destinations, along with Bigoo Drinks and cultural advocate Mama Africa. Their involvement reflects the pageant’s growing role in promoting Ghana as a travel destination.

For visitors exploring the country, Miss Akwaaba offers a unique window into contemporary Ghanaian culture. The event captures the energy of Accra’s creative scene—where fashion, language, music, and heritage meet modern storytelling.

For locals, it’s also an opportunity to reconnect with cultural traditions and support a platform that celebrates Ghana’s identity.

As auditions open in Accra, organisers are calling on bold and culturally rooted young women to step forward.

The crown of Miss Akwaaba represents more than a title; it carries the responsibility of telling Ghana’s story to the world.

For those ready to take part—or simply witness the beginning of the journey—the stage is set.

The morning light over First Norla Street will look different on April 30. Not because the sun changes, but because the street will.

By 10 AM, that ordinary Accra thoroughfare transforms into a living gallery—walls draped in colour, doorways spilling with rhythm, and every corner holding a conversation between Ghana’s past and its future.

This is Renaissance Afrique, and it’s not merely an exhibition. It’s a gathering of creative souls, cultural custodians, and curious strangers, all moving to the same heartbeat: collaboration.

Renaissance Afrique was born from a simple but radical idea—that artists, designers, musicians, and cultural institutions too often work in isolation. Why not bring them under one roof for a single, powerful day?

The result is a fluid, 10-hour celebration where a painter from Jamestown might share a wall with a heritage foundation from Cape Coast, and a leatherworker from Bolgatanga sets up beside a digital archivist preserving Ga folktales. No booths. No rigid schedules. Just creative energy flowing from 10 AM until dusk.

What will you find? Live canvas painting that evolves as the crowd watches. Drum circles that form spontaneously and dissolve into spoken word. A corner where grandmothers demonstrate traditional batik next to teenagers projecting Afrofuturist animations.

Food vendors serve jollof and fresh coconut while a historian leads an impromptu walking talk about the symbols hidden in kente cloth. The atmosphere is unhurried but electric—the kind of day where you arrive for an hour and stay until the lights come on.

For international visitors, Renaissance Afrique offers something rare: a chance to see Ghanaian culture not as a museum piece, but as a living, breathing, remixing force.

You won’t just observe traditions; you’ll watch them being reimagined in real time. For Ghanaians, it’s a homecoming to possibility—a reminder that creativity isn’t a side hustle but a inheritance.

Mark April 30. Come to First Norla Street. Bring your curiosity, leave your schedule behind, and let Accra show you what renaissance really means.