In its efforts to expand the university's academic programme and make it stand out among its peers, a new Institute of Dance and Music will soon take off in Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, AAUA, Ondo State, to grow and modernize African traditional music and dance and further enhance its marketability and global appeal.
This was disclosed on Thursday by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, while presenting a visiting don and UNESCO Cultural Ambassador to over 100 countries and global icon in the music world, Dr. Ino Mirkovic, who was in the Institution to facilitate the take-off of the proposed Institute.
Flanked by the Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Dr. Tunji Abayomi and Dr. Mirkovic, the Vice Chancellor said universities are institutions meant to bring the world to its immediate community and also blaze the trail in innovation and uniqueness.
Also speaking, Dr. Abayomi said the project was born out of his vision and commitment to raise Ajasin Varsity to international heights and help build a university whose graduates will be competitive globally. He reiterated that Dr. Mirkovic would work as a consultant in setting up an Institute of Music and Dance.
Speaking on the issue, Dr. Mirkovic said music started from Africa before coming to Europe. He added that his task was to help set up a department or an institute for music and dance using his global experiences and contacts to drive the project as a way of "paying back and bringing music back to its source, Africa."
In his words, “I am invited here to help establish a Department for Arts or Music and Performing Arts. For me, this is going to be very challenging because Nigeria has a tradition in music and dance. I also think it will be challenging to bring the knowledge and the experience of western and eastern cultures and to upgrade the local culture here to have a new mixture which has never happened before.”
He promised to bring his expertise to bear on the project and to organize a student and staff exchange programme between AAUA and other global institutions running courses in music and dance.
With a fledgling Department of Performing Arts, the new School of Music and Dance would further help position the institution as "a 21st Century University, properly called".
