Artist Biography
Iddi Saaka is from the Gonja ethnic group of northern Ghana. He has been dancing extensively from childhood. For the past four years he has been residing outside Ghana, exploring new movement styles, as well as new conceptual themes.
In 2000 Saaka graduated with a distinction from the dance department of the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana. After graduation he lived in Israel for two years, where together with his wife, Galia Boneh, created a performance engaging African dance and culture, and performed it extensively throughout Israel. In addition to several schools and community centers, Saaka performed at the “Israel Museum” in Tel-Aviv, the African Studies Department of the University of Tel Aviv and at the Jerusalem Annual Arts Festival. Saaka also worked for the Karev foundation, the Jewish Agency and the Ashdod Center for the Mentally Challenged as an instructor of African dance. In May 2003 Saaka was invited to perform at the residence of the President of Israel in Jerusalem.
In 2002 Saaka moved to L.A. for the purpose of pursuing an MFA degree in choreography at UCLA. Since then he has choreographed and performed at the Skirball Center, the International Festival of Masks in Los Angeles, UCLA’s Royce Hall and the Fowler Museum. His choreography “Drum for me” was chosen to represent UCLA at the American College Dance Festival at Modesto, California. Saaka is expected to graduate from UCLA in March, 2005. For the past three years he has been teaching beginning and intermediate level courses of Ghanaian Dance at the department of World Arts and Cultures of UCLA.
Saaka is a recipient of awards for outstanding performance from the University of Ghana, the Glorya Kaufman Fund and the Jean Irwin Fund, and has also received two “Arts Bridge” grants. In 2004 his children’s book “Soro Bindi – The Drumming Mouse” was published in Israel by Hakibutz Hameuhad Publications, and has received wide distribution. His CD, “Gonja Dreams”, a CD of original music that combines African and Western musical styles, was produced in 2003 in collaboration with Roy Levi and Dan Boneh.
Saaka uses his choreography to engage his audience in social issues of the world in which he grew up, and the world at large. Recently he has made works that address global politics and how these have affected the African continent. “Through the use of humorous elements, Saaka exposes the tragedy of the effects of global politics on Africa, allowing him to sidestep the traps and reductions of agitprop, the limitations of constructed identity politics, and also free his audience from judgment so that they may feel the gravity of the situation in Africa now” (Kate Foley, dancer and choreographer, Los-Angeles).

Contact:
Iddi Saaka
3166 Barrington Ave #D
Los Angeles CA 90066
Tel: (310) 391-1811
Idigal1@yahoo.com