Gathering of Nations
April 23-25, 2009
University of New Mexico Arena ("The Pit")
Avenida Cesar Chavez Blvd. SE (Hwy. 25, exit #223)
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
These pages will give you an overview of just some of the Powwow Dancing found at the Gathering of Nations and other competitions.
Once a young man,
lame in one foot, longed ever so much to dance. He took that longing out onto
the prairie, praying for guidance as he limped up a small hill.
On top of that
hill, it came to him - he should develop his own style of dance.
As he pondered
this revelation, he looked down over the prairie with its swaying and swooping
grasses. This, he realized, this could be his dance.
And thus, so it is said, is the origin of the grass dance one might see at a powwow. Men wear strands of yarn or ribbon, hanging from their arms and waist to
represent grass in the spirit world. Their graceful dance flows like the
rippling prairie grasses.
Men's Fancy Dance
The youth of the
dancers and the brilliantly colored outfits, with double bustles behind and
sometimes small bustles on the arms, are clues to spectators of this energetic
dance.
Outfits are
color coordinated, and the dancers are extremely coordinated, spinning through
what is undoubtedly the most athletic of powwow dances.
In this dance
in particular, a friendly competition may develop between the singers and the
dancers because stopping with the end beat can mean winning or losing points.
The singers perform "trick songs," with unexpected last beats.
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He took that longing out onto
the prairie, praying for guidance as he limped up a small hill.
outfits, with double bustles behind and
sometimes small bustles on the arms, are clues to spectators of this energetic
dance.
