Gloria Sitso Ahlijah

Sitso (Gloria Ahlijah) is an educator, performer, and choreographer hailing from Ghana, West Africa. She holds an M.F.A from the University of Michigan and a B.F.A, from the University of Ghana, where she trained extensively in West African Dance, African Contemporary Dance, and Afrobeat. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor of African Contemporary Forms at the University of Iowa, bringing vibrant West African cultural expressions, traditions, values, and deep artistic inquiry into her work.  Her research examines the evolution of West African dance forms into Contemporary movement practices, with a focus on preserving their aesthetics for continuous relevance. As an educator, Sitso is passionate about expanding cultural understanding and inspiring identity exploration through African contemporary expression, a powerful mode for storytelling.