Once a year, hoop dancing turns into a competitive sport: this past weekend, the 30th annual World Championship Hoop Dance Contest was held at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. Go inside the event here.
and other cultural events as a form of showmanship. Once a year, it also turns into a competitive sport: This past weekend, the 31st annual World Championship Hoop Dance Contest was held at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. Over its three-decade run, the event has only continued to grow, and this year’s turnout proved bigger than ever. Ninety-seven hoop dancers, from more than three dozen tribes from the U.S. and Canada, turned up to compete, marking a record high number of participants.
At the Heard competition this weekend, hoop dancers were divided into several age categories and performed their sets to two different styles of music: The “northern style” features higher-pitched vocals and slower drumming, while the “southern style” involves lower vocals and faster drumming. Participants were judged on five specific qualities during their five-minute sets: speed, precision, showmanship, timing and rhythm, and creativity. “It’s a tough dance to master,” says Jones.
For the family, hoop dancing has been an art form passed down through the generations. “My dad was a hoop dancer. He taught me when I was five years old,” says Tony, while Violet was inspired by watching those in her community. “I learned when I was 12 years old,” she says. “No one in my family was a hoop dancer. Hoop dancing was a specialty dance that you saw very rarely at the powwows. I saw it for the very first time and I was in love with the dance.
Despite the varied backstories and tribes, a common thread with all of this weekend’s performers was a sense of carrying on—one that continues to holds much significance, both to those performing and watching. “Dancing to the beat of the drum is good medicine,” says Odjig. “When we’re out there dancing, we’re not dancing for ourselves. We’re dancing and praying for everyone that’s watching. It’s important to keep this dance strong and alive and pass it on from generation to generation.
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