Benedictus Mattson

Benedictus is an artist/researcher born and raised in Ghana, West Africa. He is a choreographer, educator, performer, and a cultural studies researcher. He holds an MFA, Theatre Arts with specialization in choreography, and a BFA in choreography and performance all from the University of Ghana. Benedictus has had training as a contemporary African dance performer and choreographer under the tutelage of distinguished dance scholars such as professor Nii Yartey and Oh! Nii Kwei Sowah. At his postgraduate level Benedictus carved a niche for himself as a specialist in popular dance under the mentorship of renowned popular dance choreographer and scholar Dr. Terry Ofosu. Benedictus is currently a PhD candidate investigating the Mediatization of Ghanaian popular dance. He focusses primarily of the Azonto dance’s presence on Instagram and how dancers’ interaction with/on the social media platform helps transform the dance.

Prior to enrolling in the PhD program, he served as an assistant lecturer at the Department of Dance Studies, University of Ghana, School of Performing Arts. As an assistant lecturer, Benedictus taught especially popular dance, choreography, and African dance performance. In addition to teaching, he is credited with choreographic works which are mostly a fusion of contemporary African dance and popular dance styles. He is also the assistant choreographer for Artistic Visions Ghana, a performing arts company specialized in dance works for corporate institutions. Benedictus has presented lectures and workshops/presentations at numerous venues of great esteem such as, University of San Francisco, University of California-Irvine, and Queen’s University. He is also currently the Afrobeats/Afrodance instructor at the Kingston School of Dance.