Monday, November 12, 2007
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HOOP DANCES by Dallas Chief Eagle and Jasmine Pickner
HOOP DANCES by Dallas Chief Eagle and Jasmine Pickner
(Rosebud and Crow Creek Sioux tribes of South Dakota)

November 15, 2007

12 noon - 1pm

Coolidge Auditorium, Jefferson Building, Library of Congress

Two first place World Hoop Dance Champions have joined together to model and dance a vision of male and female balance, harmony and respect as traditionally practiced by their ancestors. Dallas Chief Eagle, Rosebud Sioux tribal member, and Jasmine Pickner of the Crow Creek Sioux tribe are both world-traveled hoop dancers. They share with audiences an ancient hoop dance story outlining sacred hoop wisdom.

Dallas Chief Eagle is a member of the Rosebud Lakota (Sioux) Nation and master of the Hoop Dance. For Dallas, the Hoop Dance is more than a dance; it is a way of keeping Lakota traditions alive. The ancient and honorable tradition of the Hoop Dance explains the Plains Indian world view as the hoops intersect and grow into ever more complex shapes, always and forever returning to the beginning. His twenty-seven hoops represent the different colors and sizes of trees, which, to Dallas, also represent the diversity of life. His ornate dance regalia itself resembles a tree, with animals on its branches - a porcupine roach and eagle feather on his head, fur on his legs and dragonfly beadwork on his "trunk." As with the Lakota word can' gleska which means both "spotted hoop" and "tree," the two come together closely for Dallas, who demonstrates the power of this symbolism in his intricate hoop dance.

Jasmine Pickner, a member of the Crow Creek Lakota tribe, was encouraged to dance from an early age by her grandmother, Theresa Red Bear. Red Bear brought her family to Mitchell's Corn Palace during the 1950s and 60s to perform. At about age 7, Pickner began hoop dancing, and has become a leading proponent of the form. She is a member of the reigning World Champion hoop dancing team and the adopted daughter of Dallas Chief Eagle. Pickner credits the dancers she saw growing up with enhancing her interest in dancing, as well as the family tradition. She is an accomplished performer, having spent the past eight summers dancing each weekend at the Alex Johnson hotel in Rapid City.

For more information, please visit: www.loc.gov/folklife or call 202-707-5510.

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