Emmanuel Cudjoe
Assistant Professor of West African Dance
Dr. Emmanuel Cudjoe is an Assistant Professor of Dance at Ball State University. Prior to this Dr. Cudjoe was Assistant Professor and ACM-Andrew Mellon Faculty Fellow in the Dance Department at St. Olaf College. He earned his Ph.D. in Dance Studies from the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University, where his dissertation, titled “From Palace to Academy: Embodiment, Transmission and Dis/continuation within the Asante Kete Dance of Ghana,” focused on the indigenous Asante Kete court dance systems. His work bridges practice and scholarship, offering an African-centered perspective on these traditional dance forms. Dr. Cudjoe’s ongoing research examines Afrocentricity and Oral History as methodologies to explore African dance practices and curriculum design. His approach is rooted in the decolonization of dance knowledge, emphasizing the importance of African bodies, experiences, and knowledge in producing and interpreting meaning in the contemporary era.
Dr. Cudjoe holds a Ph.D. in Dance Studies from Temple University, Philadelphia, a BFA in Theatre and Dance Studies with first-class honors from the University of Ghana, and an MA in African Studies from the same university. He also has an MA in International Dance Knowledge, Practice, and Heritage from the ERASMUS-MUNDUS Choreomundus program, involving NTNU-Norway, Université Clermont Auvergne in France, University of Szeged in Hungary, and Roehampton University in the UK.
Born and raised in Ghana, West Africa, Dr. Cudjoe brings a wealth of indigenous and international experiences to his role. He is a distinguished dance scholar, practitioner, musician, educator, researcher, and singer dedicated to preserving traditional and neo-traditional dances from Ghana and Africa. He has performed extensively globally. As a choreographer and dancer, Dr. Cudjoe has created works for national and international workshops, conferences, symposiums, festivals across the globe, and has several articles and book publications to his credit.
His research interests include dance studies, West African dance, Afrofuturism, Africology, dance anthropology, ethnocoreology, dance phenomenology, Afrocentricity, dance history, intangible cultural heritage, ethnography, and the post-colonial politics of West African dance. His work seeks to challenge the hierarchical structures in dance scholarship and practice, while honoring the knowledge and traditions of his ancestors.
Dr. Cudjoe’s academic and artistic career has been marked by numerous awards and fellowships, including the Associated Colleges of the Midwest Andrew Mellon Fellowship, Temple University’s Graduate Teaching Assistantship Award, the Edrie Ferdun Emerging Scholar Award, Edrie Ferdum Scholarly Achievement award at Temple University and the Erasmus Mundus Choreomundus Scholarship. His extensive ethnographic fieldwork spans the Asante people of Ghana, regions in Northern Ghana, and Togo, where he has studied and performed. He has collaborated with esteemed Ghanaian choreographers such as Professor Francis Nii-Yartey, Dr. Kofi Anthonio, and Maama Kariamu Welsh, Eric Baffour Awuah which has influenced his research on emerging and emergent movement systems in West Africa.
As a passionate advocate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Dr. Cudjoe has shared his expertise through academic conferences, workshops, and masterclasses in various countries, including Ghana, the USA, Norway, France, Hungary, India, Canada, and the UK. His commitment to community engagement is reflected in his numerous scholarly and artistic works which underscore his dedication to using dance as a tool for social change and preserving African cultural heritage.
Dr. Cudjoe and his wife are also the founders of "Star That Shines," an NGO in Ghana that facilitates cultural education, performance workshops, and academic exchange programs between Ghana and international partners.
Dr. Cudjoe professional affiliations include membership in the School of Performing Arts Association (ASPA- Ghana), African Studies Association (ASA), NTNU Alumni-Ghana, International Council for Traditional Music- (ICTM - Choreomundus and African(Chapter), Choreomundus Alumni Association (CAA), The International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD), African Diasporic Dance Association (ADDA), Collegium for African Diaspora Dance (CADD), Temple Dance Student Associations (TDSA)