Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 25, 2026

Borborbor

Borborbor is a Ghanaian and Togolese traditional dance performed by the Ewe people from the Volta region of Ghana and Southern Togo, including Kpalime and Lomé. The dance is performed especially during the festival of the chiefs and people of communities. This dance is believed to have originated with Mr. Francis Kudzo Nuatro in the 1950s. It's a cultural and social recreational dance performed by the Ewe people in the Volta Region of Ghana, an area north of the Anlo Ewe of southeastern Ghana and some Togolese.

Last revised
Jun 25, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
285 w
Citations
7
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Borborbor
Borborbor dance
OriginEwe of Ghana and Togo
Borborbor drummers. source ↗

Borborbor (also known as Akpese1) is a Ghanaian and Togolese traditional dance performed by the Ewe people from the Volta region of Ghana and Southern Togo , including Kpalime and Lomé.2 The dance is performed especially during the festival of the chiefs and people of communities.3 This dance is believed to have originated with Mr. Francis Kudzo Nuatro in the 1950s.4 It's a cultural and social recreational dance performed by the Ewe people in the Volta Region of Ghana, an area north of the Anlo Ewe of southeastern Ghana and some Togolese.5

The borborbor music has been internationally recognized for the past half a century by Nketia, Jones, and Amu before spreading to the ends of Chernoff, Agawu, Avorgbedor, Burns, Fiagbedzi, Dor, Pantaleoni, Locke, and many others.6

History of Borborbor

Costumes

The dance is mainly female-based, and they wear colorful long garments with two white handkerchiefs7

References

References

  1. Arthur, Benson (2025-10-18). "Borborbor is not twerking but safeguarding the pride of Ewe heritage". The Business & Financial Times. Retrieved 2026-05-16.
  2. Tomar, Kunal (2017-12-16). "BORBORBOR DANCE - GHANA: An African Tribal Dance - Page 3 of 4 - DanceAsk". Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  3. "Hogbetsotso Festival". www.travel-to-discover-ghana.com. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  4. GNA (2020-07-27). "Remembering Francis Kodzo Nuatro, Borborbor Originator and Icon". Ghana News Agency. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  5. "Borborbor has nothing to do with twerking - Efadzinam Borborbor Band clarifies". GhanaWeb. 2025-04-25. Archived from the original on 2025-04-25. Retrieved 2026-05-16.
  6. "Prologue: Nothing Has Been Done Before". Nothing Has Been Done Before: 1–14. 2017. doi:10.5040/9781501322051.0003.
  7. "Borborbor dance in Ghana". Local Guides Connect. 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
External links