Hyphenated New York - NYU Fall 2009

Dancing the Circle | December 15, 2009

By Reem Nasr

On a dreary October night, New Yorkers are transported to a world of acoustic and visual enrapture. As the stage is illuminated in a blue glow, the sound of bells jingling, drumming, and feet thumping penetrates the room. The crowd is hushed as the dancers dance their way into the hall in a neat line, singing loudly. Performing the Grand Entry, the dancers reach the stage and dance around the circle, entrancing spectators with their effortless movements and passion.

In the National Museum of the American Indian’s Diker Hall, people search for refuge from the cold rain. They have gathered together for the Traditional Dance Social with the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers and Singers. The auditorium, with a capacity for over 200 seats, is packed, and spectators stand along the walls.

The Thunderbird Dance Ensembles performed a series of traditional Native American dances with narration by their Director Louis Mofsie. Each year the company performs a night of dance at the museum, providing Natives and non-Natives with a look into the vibrant and diverse culture of North America’s indigenous peoples. Mofsie, from the Hopi and Winnebago Tribes, narrated the stories and meanings behind each of the dances, emphasizing the similarities and differences of the many Native tribes.

“The Native American culture is very much alive today,” Mofsie says. “It’s important to be proud of who you are and to keep our song and dance alive.”

He explained that traditional clothes worn by the dancers are called regalia and not “costumes” which he deems disrespectful. No two regalia were the same among the more than 20 dancers composed of male and female, young and old, dark and light-skinned. Their colors and intricate beadwork under the stage lighting illuminated the hall. Multi-coloredbeads, soft feathers, and beaver fur adorned their regalia. Some women wore long silk shawls that draped on their backs with utmost dignity. The bells hanging from one woman’s dress created a rhythmic beat as she danced the circle. There were knee-high camel colored moccasins and bright jewelry.

Tony Redhouse, a traditional Native American spiritual teacher, says that each individual chooses the regalia that he or she wears to dance. On his regalia he wears blue to represent the freedom of the sky and ocean, red to represent the trials of life, and white to represent purity.

“The message is more profound than the dance itself because it speaks about life, relationships, animals, and the earth,” he says. “The traditional dance, like music, tells a story.”

Redhouse, who is a recording artist and traditional dancer, added that dance socials are especially important in cities like New York because “people from different tribes come together to a common drumbeat that they can all relate to.”

The culture’s rich history of oral tradition includes orations, stories, prayers, and songs. Music plays an important role in Native American culture; it provides an emotional and artistic outlet for the community. Variations in song and dance exist among the various tribes, but general trends can be seen within the same geographic region of the country.

Social gatherings, known as pow-wows, began in the mid-nineteenth century and continue to this day. It has become an expression of American Indian identity and a way to explore the rich heritage it has to offer. But the dances are not merely a physical ritual; they are packed with symbolic and spiritual meaning that make them all the more interesting and engaging. In the Grass Dance, the position of the dancer causes flowing regalia to move in a way reminiscent of the blowing grass of the prairie. In the Buckskin Dance, dancers must move in perfect harmony with the drums to symbolize their grace and dignity. Native American dances also symbolize harmony with nature and respect for the Earth Mother.

Saturday’s dance social at the museum represented about 20 tribes performing different dances. To the right of the stage a group of four men and four women beat the drum and sang traditional Native songs. Dancers danced in a large circle around the stage. Some dances were fast and consisted of the dancers thudding the ground with their feet and twirling fast. Others were more subdued, in tune with the soft drumming.

Mofsie explained that the traditional women’s dance of the Great Plains is among the oldest types of Native dance. Women danced the circle in a dignified manner swaying their shawls from side to side. The music to this dance was slow and rhythmic and the women looked like butterflies as they twirled and held their shawls.

A skilled hoop dancer danced alone with six hoops. She picked them up without using her hands. She positioned her body so that she passed through the hoops in a marvelous act of flexibility. The crowd strained forward to see the seemingly impossible feat. After this dance Mofsie invited the audience to dance on the stage, of which many did.

The continuity of dance traditions illustrates the Native American community’s pride in its heritage. It is a celebration of their identity that also serves a social role of bringing different tribes together to enjoy dance and music.

Redhouse and many others value their heritage and history and want others to experience the beauty of this art form.

“Dancing brings the community together,” Redhouse says. “And the drumbeat brings people together and heals the community.”

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