Dr. Jennies Deide Darko

JENNIES DEIDE DARKO PHD.

Jennies Deide Darko currently is a lecturer at the Department of Dance Studies, School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana Legon. She holds a Teachers Certificate “A” from the Presbyterian Women’s Training College at Aburi Akwapim. She also holds a Diploma, BFA (First Class Honours), MFA in Theatre Arts (Dance) with thesis title “Dance as a means of healing” case study Pantang Psychiatric Hospital,  all from the University of Ghana Legon. She holds a  PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of Cape Coast  with thesis title “Negotiating Religious Identity through Dance in the Presbyterian Church. A study of Immanuel Congregation Madina. Ghana” Prior to her current position, she worked with the Ghana Dance Ensemble, University of Ghana as dancer and Public Relations Officer. Some of the Courses she teaches include Dance Forms of Ghana, Dance Forms of Africa, Traditional Dance, Dance Aesthetics and Criticism and Traditional Singing. Seminars and papers she has presented are “Dance technique” using dance movement to help students, a Departmental seminar in 2010.  In 2011, she presented papers titled “Dance in the Bible” and “The role of dance in stimulating interest in advertised products” all departmental presentations. In 2012 she presented at a seminar “Master of the game, the master drummer and the dance performance” and at the 10th faculty of Arts Colloquium, “Ye be yi n’aye” a study of Christian worship dance in Ghana.  In 2016 at an International Christian Dance Fellowship Workshop held at the University of Ghana, she presented a paper titled “Dance in the Christian Religion.

RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dance in Religion
Dance Therapy

ON-GOING RESEARCH PROJECTS
Christian dance worship
Dance in advertising
Dance at Funerals

PUBLICATIONS
Darko, J. D. (2012) Dance and Mental Health: The Therapeutic Experience of Mental Patients at Pantang Psychiatric Hospital, Pantang. Ghana. Journal of Performing Arts. Vol. 4 2012, Number 3.

Darko, J.D. (2013). Creative dance and mental health intervention in Ghana. In  K.  Igweonu & O. Okagbue (Eds.) Performative inter-actions in African theatre 2: Innovation, creativity and social change (pp. 81-90). UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Darko, J. D. (2016). Dance performance, an endorsement for advertised products on television in Ghana. Journal of Performing Arts, 5, 128-137.