East Bay Center for the Performing Arts and CK Ladzekpo

“Hogbetsoto – Day of Crossing Over,” a dance project commemorating the Anlo-Ewe people’s historic flight from servitude in Togo to freedom in Ghana.

East Bay Center is commissioning Ghanaian American choreographer and master drummer CK Ladzekpo to create a work that will use drumming, dancing, and ritual to reenact the Anlo-Ewe people’s historic flight from servitude in Togo – and ultimately from European coastal raiders – to freedom in Ghana. Resettling near the shallow coastal lagoons of Keta, Ghana eventually served as a defense against slave ships. This story is commemorated annually in a multi-day Ghanaian festival known as Hogbetsotso Za. CK Ladzekpo will reimagine what is traditionally a week-long reenactment performance and ritual into an evening-length performance that incorporates dance, regalia, ceremonial cleansing, and ceremonies for the renewal of justice. The work is titled “Hogbetsoto – Day of Crossing Over,” and will premiere in the summer of 2023.