By Francis Jones
Van Calebs was born on 22 February 1991 in Volta Region, Ghana. He is a Ghanaian Dancer, Chorographer and Teacher who founded the Van Calebs Walking Stick Foundation which is a non profit organization. Today is his birth birthday, take a look at his early life and Chorography dance career, etc.
He is an alumna of Wisconsin International University College, Silicon Valley International School and further studied at Adisadel College. He studied classical ballet for several years before becoming a choreographer.
*His Dances career*
Van Calebs was a pioneer cultural Chorographer dancer whose vision and ambitious endeavors helped catapult Ghana dance into the league of recognised African Chorography dances through his pioneer Cultural style of dance.
Born in 1991 in Ghana, and was brought up in the outskirts of Volta Region in a suburb called Agbozume.
After leaving the Adisadel College, Van founded his own school and company and codified his own modern-dance technique. His style was both intensely technical and highly emotional, and he often found inspiration from myths and poems and He created ‘The Dance fame ‘ a dance convention aimed at training and mentoring professional dancers as well as promoting cultural exchange within the Ghana dance industry.
He is one of three sons of a notable lawyer, with a passion for the bodily expression of human behavior. After some time spent in the south of the neighboring country of Togo, his family settled in Accra, the capital, in 1990, where he discovered the rhythm of the sea and became familiar with Ghanaian art, influences which have manifested themselves in his choreography throughout his career. Over a career spanning over 8 years, Van has created a range of dances, ranging from solos to large-scale creations of full programs, such as “Base” (2018).
Van rose to prominence when he initiated the dance move titled Rock body used by Noella Wiyaala, a Ghanaian Afro-pop singer-songwriter (popularly known as Wiyaala).
And he caught the eyes of the French ambassador for cultural exchange in the process, which prompted the French Embassy to sponsor his trip to France for a dance events.
He is considered a major figure in contemporary African dance. At 34, the Ghanaian keeps on dancing, creating and promoting African and contemporary dance, through training, shows.
For several years, he has contributed to the training of several dancers in Africa and the West. The Ghanaian has participated in making African dance known internationally. Together with his crew, he is the founder of the “Van Calebs Empire” in Ghana, which has been training dancers since 2013.
He is One choreographer who has changed the way dance itself is perceived in Ghana. He is also the first to introduce, styles like jazz and contemporary african cultural chorography forms, van rapidly went on to become the most sought after choreographer in Ghana after his base dance step was used as a monuments
Van Calebs has created more than 40 pieces of choreography, many of which he performed himself.