About Kulture Shock Movement
About Kulture Shock Movement
WELCOME TO KULTURE SHOCK
MOVEMENT LLC
Mission
CULTURE SHOCK… I’m sure most of us have experienced this when traveling to a place never seen or been before with various forms of traditions and customs. The impact can be negative or positive, but it’s all about what you are able to grasp from that culture and how that can be implemented into your daily life. Kulture Shock Movement is exactly that! This program serves as a way to broaden awareness on the African culture and the many facets it encompasses through DANCE. Participants will be able to foster appreciation and respect for similarities and differences between cultures. The program serves as a way to inspire confidence, commitment, team building and to bring about happiness and vitality to both adults and youth alike through the exposure of various different African dance styles and art forms. Dance is Life! EMBRACE IT!
Vision
When you hear or think of Kulture Shock Movement, one should envision being taken through a tunnel where you’re being exposed to the different customs and traditional drum and storytelling from the West-African culture along with Modern day Africa with its blend of Afrobeats, Hip-Hop and House music. All one needs is to close their eyes, visualize and feel.
Anastasia Akuffo-Afful, MPH
Founder
Anastasia Akuffo-Afful, Founder and CEO of Kulture Shock Movement is of Ghanaian descent, born in the United States, but with her strong and rooted upbringing in the West-African culture and its traditions and customs, she cultivated and shaped her love for the beauty in dance. Anastasia is a Public Health graduate with a concentration in Global and Child Health issues. However, her strong passion for making a difference in the world through community work, health awareness and dance, she has managed to create programs that encompass the importance of physical, mental and emotional health alike all while having fun.
Ms. Akuffo-Afful, prides herself on the simplicity of movement and performing from the rhythm of her hearts desire. “Let the music move you!” she exclaims. She has had 20 plus years of dance experience with a background in ballet, contemporary, jazz, modern, West-African traditional and Afrofusion( Carribean, Cuban and West-African modern day dance styles) dance. From a theatrical approach, she loves the addition of acting in her choreography because It adds a certain flare and a different perspective on how else movement can be perceived.
The goal of these programs is to have its participants feel free enough to fully express themselves to their hearts desire through movement! Your mind, body and soul will endure a full workout with pure enjoyment while taking a journey through the joys of the West-African culture!
Miglanche Ghomsi- Nono
Dance Instructor
Miglanche Priscille Ghomsi Nono, a Pre-Med track student at UMBC, with aspirations in becoming a Doctor with a concentration in Obstetrics and Gynecology also has a natural love for the art of dance and it all it ecompasses. Being of Cameroonian descent, she loves the idea of culture and makes sure to infuse some of her traditional dance styles into her choreography. She has had over 10 years of experience in various dance styles such as West African traditional dance, modern, liturgical, step and hip-hop dance. Dance has played a very important role in her upbringing and brought about discipline, confidence and vitality in her life. She believes strongly that DANCE is indeed a form of therapy or medicine that cures all ones stress or sickness,and brings about happiness.
Pamela Aluvale,
Dance Instructor
Pamela Aluvale, a student at the University of Maryland College Park studying Behavioral & Community Health on the Pre-PA Track, uses Dance as her greatest outlet to express herself to people on a deeper level.Apart from dance, she also enjoys listening to and discovering new music from different countries around the world. Pamela’s background in dance includes ballet, tap, modern/contemporary and afro-dance.She often describes her performances as though a huge weight lifted off her soul, as it mimics all the frustrations of life experienced up until that moment where it is then resolved in a matter of minutes or seconds. This is the exact feeling she wants students to feel when they are a part of Kulture Shock Movement. This is where they will be given room to express themselves in a judgement-free zone and to learn from each others strengths and weaknesses to become better dancers!