After the Acoma Dancers performed their traditional social dances at Pueblo Bonito, we were surprised by the arrival of members of the Laguna Pueblo (west-central New Mexico) and some of their young dancers.
So for those who stayed, we got to see a performance of the traditional Hoop Dance by Kyle Swimmer, 15 years old. He was accompanied on the drum by a 13-year-old. Amazingly, they had never performed together before.
Here is a closeup of Kyle's costume, which he made himself.
The Hoop Dance is difficult to learn and perform, as the dancer uses a number of reed hoops - from a handful to ~40 or more. Kyle used ~15 hoops for his dances.
The reed hoops are much more difficult to use than the plastic hoops many use these days, since they can break.
He creates images with the hoops - usually various animals - which the audience then guesses (turkey, eagle, earth, sun, even mickey mouse!), and spur him on with applause to create more.
Can you guess what these hoop "images" represent?
The dancer's feet never stop moving, and he dances for several minutes. Kyle has been dancing since he was quite young - and it shows!
This was a great surprise ending for a great solstice afternoon at Pueblo Bonito.
Related posts:
Chaco Canyon Solstice 2008: Acoma Dancers, Pueblo Bonito, Part 1
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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