After a glorious sunrise at Casa Rinconada to begin the day (Chaco Canyon Solstice 2008: Sunrise at Casa Rinconada, Part 1, Chaco Canyon Solstice 2008: Sunrise at Casa Rinconada, Part 2), Cyrus and the Acoma dancers (Cyrus Concho and the Acoma Sky City Group Dancers) danced two times (11 am and 3 pm) in the great plaza at Pueblo Bonito.
Seeing the contemporary Pueblo people, descendants of the ancient Chacoans, dance their traditional dances among the magnificent stone buildings built 1,000 years ago, fills me with such awe and gratitude, and a greater sense of what life must have been like here long ago.
Even with temperatures in the mid 90s (fahrenheit), and a blazing sun, we had a good crowd gathered for both the morning and afternoon dances. Again, I had the pleasure of helping to park and direct the visitors, and, hopefully adding to their day. I love to have fun while I'm at it!
The heat, and the heavy costumes worn by the Acoma dancers, kept the dances short. I can't imagine how it must have been for them!
The first dance was the Rainbow Dance. Unfortunately, I saw only the end of the afternoon dance, as I was still parking visitors.
I did see the second dance, the Buffalo Dance (see dancers above, and next post: Chaco Canyon Solstice 2008: Acoma Dancers, Pueblo Bonito, Part 2), both in the morning and afternoon. I love these dances.
Here is the overall view of the dancers and visitors at Pueblo Bonito.
Rainbow Dance (note the beautiful rainbow headdresses and costumes)
See the next post, Chaco Canyon Solstice 2008: Acoma Dancers, Pueblo Bonito, Part 2, for more photos of Cyrus and the Buffalo Dance. Chaco Canyon Solstice 2008: Acoma Dancers, Pueblo Bonito, Part 3, has additional photos, including the adorable children.
Related posts:
Chaco Canyon Solstice 2008: Acoma Dancers, Pueblo Bonito, Part 2
Chaco Canyon Solstice 2008: Acoma Dancers, Pueblo Bonito, Part 3
Chaco Canyon Solstice 2008: Acoma Dancers, Pueblo Bonito, Part 4
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