Angelic Kankam’s journey to UNCG’s School of Dance started half a world away. Learn more about she found her way from Ghana to Greensboro in this Commencement Interview.
What has been your journey in the arts and how did you find your way to UNCG’s College of Visual and Performing Arts?
I grew up in a performing arts family. My mom sings. My dad sings. We all play instruments, so we’ve always had that performance artistry in the family. I danced in high school, mostly just for the fun of it, but when I went to the University of Ghana, I enrolled in the performing arts program—music, dance, and theatre. I would say that is where my academic journey in the arts began and where I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts.
After that four-year program, I did my required national service at the University as a teaching assistant. All during that time, I was looking for ways to learn new dance techniques. I watched YouTube videos and took every workshop I could, and then an opportunity came up for me to teach with a dance company as a ballet instructor for three-to-six-year-olds. I was also doing some choreographing for some artists and at some corporate events.
I had decided I wanted to go back to school and to do that in the United States. I did some searching online and asking friends who had gone to the United States for graduate school, and one of them mentioned UNC Greensboro. I checked the UNCG School of Dance website and looked at the faculty and what they were working on. I had read about BJ Sullivan and her Safety Release Technique, and I read about Robin Gee’s work, too. I also looked at information about graduates and what they were doing and checked out all the opportunities that students had here.
How has the UNCG School of Dance been a good fit for you?
As an international student, funding is important, so having the opportunity to be a graduate assistant helped me make the decision to come—that and knowing that I’d be able to teach because pedagogy is an important aspect of choreography. For your choreography to be performed, you must be able to teach it.
One of the things that I think really stands out for me at the CVPA School of Dance is the sense of community. You feel it in the classroom and in the halls. The laughter in these spaces is just amazing.
What has been your best experience here at UNCG?
I found myself in a School of Dance graduate program not knowing anyone. Everything was new. The support I received from everyone was massive, and I’m extremely grateful for that. It feels like a foundation that this program has been built on—so it wasn’t hard for them to, you know, bring me in, pull me in. The support and the push you get in classes is a highlight for me.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned while at UNCG?
I’ve learned that it is important to ask for help when you need it. There are times when you feel that you’re self-sufficient, that you can figure this out myself. But know that the help is there and give yourself the grace to find it. I hardly ever asked for help back home in Ghana, and it’s a great lesson that I’ve learned here. If I’m overwhelmed, I know that I can speak with someone and receive guidance. I want my students to know that too. Sometimes I just sit in a circle with my students and ask how their week is going. Just having that circle moment is really helpful in relieving stress for all of us.
What are your future plans?
I can stay in the United States for a year of optional practical training in the field that I’ve studied, so I want to take advantage of that opportunity. But in my bigger plans, I see myself going back to Ghana and working in the performing arts there. I’m happy that my country is more open and appreciative of the arts lately, but there is still work to be done, and I know that it’s definitely in my life plan. I’d like to start a project in Ghana—start a movement in Ghana—to build a performing arts space. It would be a place to share our culture and to give children easy access to the arts.
What is your advice for incoming students?
Enjoy the process.
You might think of the end goal as the important thing, but I believe everything that’s happening to get you to that finish line is in a way more important.
Also, believe in yourself and go for it. You are here for a reason. You weren’t accepted into this School by chance. There’s something unique about you that the world needs, and the world is eager to see. This is this moment.
Photo from Angelica’s thesis production “Agoro: A Day in the 90’s” which draws inspiration from childhood games
