Christian was born and raised in Accra, Ghana, in West Africa. Since he was six years old, he has loved traditional African music and dance, which he started exploring in a drama group at his church. He then danced in a local troupe called OMEGA-7, which refined his talent. Later in high school, he created the theatre and dance group aptly named Bright Future. They toured around schools and won multiple awards. Christian moved to Minnesota in 2003 with an enormous passion for West African drumming and dance. He hopes that the tradition of African drumming and dancing will unlock the ancestral vibration that has been covered for centuries, which involves peace and love for the whole planet.
He has taught at many colleges and universities around Minnesota, as well as at various organizations and local institutions. Christian is also a dance instructor at the Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts.
Christian has taught at numerous colleges and universities, such as Carleton, St. Olaf, St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, Hamline University, and the University of Minnesota. He has coached at various organizations and local institutions such as Minnesota’s African Women, Elom International Academy, Park Center, and Northview High Schools.
Program Offerings
Residency
West African Drumming, Dance, & Storytelling
Over the course of my residency, students and teachers will be encouraged to participate in the discovery of West African drumming, dance, and storytelling. West African culture is rich with symbols, rituals, conflict, history, and opportunity. The metaphor of West African music and dance allows students to experience the culture in a rhythmic and physical realm. My comprehensive programs involve elements of dance and music, but from the perspective of transforming traditional music and movement into contemporary statements of change and hope. Students will experience and learn traditional songs and dances. There will be optimal moments for storytelling and for revealing to students the history of the dance and rituals within the authentic context of an ethnic community/classroom gathering.
Customization: Do you want to focus on dance or drumming? This residency can be offered with a single focus on dance or drumming. A drumming-focused residency will include a cartage fee for the drums, as each student will need and get to use a West African drum.
Workshop
West African Storytelling Drumming or Dance
In this workshop, participants will learn West African storytelling through drumming or dance. West African culture is rich with symbols, rituals, conflict, history, and opportunity. The metaphor of West African music and dance allows students to experience the culture in a rhythmic and physical realm. Students will engage with and learn traditional songs or dances while deepening their cultural understanding. Carefully chosen moments will allow for storytelling and the sharing of the dance’s history and associated rituals, all presented within the authentic context of an ethnic community or classroom gathering.
Performance
Christian Adeti & Titambe (Cultural Arts & Learning) School Assembly Program
Need a great performance for your school assembly? In today’s economy, when our schools face budget cuts, the first programs to go are the arts programs.
Let Christian Adeti and Titambe expose your students to African culture through an interactive performance that combines dance, music, games, wordplay, and instruments! Adding this performance to your next school assembly will not only support your educational curriculum but will also allow students to:
- Develop creative expression, practice active motion, and develop rhythmic awareness as they explore African dance and movement.
- Develop general fitness, coordination, and balance as the students explore African dance and instrument play.
- Stimulate creativity and enhance self-expression through imaginative play and creative movement.
- Have an enhanced sense of cultural awareness and an understanding of diversity.
Suitable for K-12 students with a minimum of 1 or 2 artists. These assemblies are high-energy and require a lot of active participation from both students and teachers. A multipurpose room or a stage is the best-suited room for this program; however, we are willing to work with whatever resources are available to your school.
“Mr. Adeti was such a wonderful role model for all the students. He is calm, yet energetic. Happy and accepting, yet holds everyone to high standards. The children loved his energy and willingness to answer questions. Our favorite part was hearing the stories of how the dance related to the people of West Africa and to hear the song/dance being explained.”
Ms. Krider, St. Anthony Park Elementary School
“Christian was extremely positive and encouraging, continually expressing ideas of unity and overcoming barriers in our lives. Staff and students are still talking about their experience and how it was the most interactive and positive residency we’ve ever had. Christian was able to make this drumming experience truly a cultural one, and was able to meet each student at his/her developmental level–which is a wide spectrum at our school!”
Ms. Pelletier, Minnesota State Academy for the Blind
