By Ilyasa Baa
Port Loko district has got a training center and research hub for people interested in music and performing arts.
The expansion of Ballanta Academy to this northern district has been widely welcome by sons and daughters of the district expecting that the new centre will be able to nurture talented residents and make them internationally recognized like the one in Freetown has been doing for over twenty years now. The centre was officially opened on 9th April after constant engagement between the academy and stakeholders of the district one prominently among them being Hon. Ibrahim Bundu who cajoled them and provided them with the plot of land for erection of the musical training centre.
The Marketing Communications lead,Sarafina Nicol-Sesay has said Ballanta Academy has worldwide beacon for the promotion of West African music noting that they found Port Loko to be ideal for the training of indigenous music at professional level to compete worldwide.
She said they were busy with scheduled activities to grace the Easter occasion. She mentioned their free Easter Concert at Boxton Memorial Church as a successful exhibition of what their students have learned.
Ballanta Academy was established in 1995 to teach music to a high professional level, research and disseminate information on the musical heritage of Sierra Leone. It has provided a platform for nurturing talent to be international recognized. The vision underpinning the academy is based on the conviction that exposure to the performing arts helps children learn other subjects including various non-arts based skills. The institution provides an avenue to develop cognitive abilities that complement study in other disciplines.
The talents students discover through arts can form habits which transcend all areas of study. This disciple helps develop creative thinking in learners.
However, its ageing Principal Madam Kiti Fadlu-Deen has become a household name best remembered for her discipline towards time.
