Prairie Band Potawatomie 2017 Pow Wow
Dance is an expressive language that often goes beyond most expectations of non-verbal communication. No less can be said of the Prairie Band Potawatomie 2017 Pow Wow. As we arrive we can already hear the sounds of Native American drums filtering through the trees from the campground. Making our way to the arena we see that the ‘Grand Entry’ has begun and the dancers are parading around ‘stomping’ in rhythm to the drums. Elaborately dressed elders are the first to enter as they show off their seasoned skills using turns and dips while tamping their feet along the way. There is a pattern to their footwork as they move freely to the music. Tap, tap, step, tap, tap, step, dip and turn, repeat.
Women dancers join in and are ‘scrubbing’, ‘a stationary dance style’ in which they bounce in place as they move along the circle (Garlow). Conversely, some men and women are employing a ‘walking style’ using a deep knee bend as they take small steps forward (Garlow). Whenever the drummers employ strong, loud beats of the drum, called ‘honor beats’, the …show more content…
Equally fascinating is the “Fancy Dance” for men in which male dancers, wearing rather large, flowing headdresses make their way around the circle while eliciting a ‘call and response’ engaging the audience. Surprisingly, one man is crouching extremely low while he keeps his rhythmic pattern of steps and flow of movement. Shortly thereafter, is my favorite performance, the “Fancy Shawl Dance”. With a shawl decorated with beads, embroidery and feathers slung around their shoulders, they flamboyantly dance around doing multiple turns while holding the shawl with their arms spread wide. I was told that this is to resemble a butterfly coming out of its
Dance is an expressive language that often goes beyond most expectations of non-verbal communication. No less can be said of the Prairie Band Potawatomie 2017 Pow Wow. As we arrive we can already hear the sounds of Native American drums filtering through the trees from the campground. Making our way to the arena we see that the ‘Grand Entry’ has begun and the dancers are parading around ‘stomping’ in rhythm to the drums. Elaborately dressed elders are the first to enter as they show off their seasoned skills using turns and dips while tamping their feet along the way. There is a pattern to their footwork as they move freely to the music. Tap, tap, step, tap, tap, step, dip and turn, repeat.
Women dancers join in and are ‘scrubbing’, ‘a stationary dance style’ in which they bounce in place as they move along the circle (Garlow). Conversely, some men and women are employing a ‘walking style’ using a deep knee bend as they take small steps forward (Garlow). Whenever the drummers employ strong, loud beats of the drum, called ‘honor beats’, the …show more content…
Equally fascinating is the “Fancy Dance” for men in which male dancers, wearing rather large, flowing headdresses make their way around the circle while eliciting a ‘call and response’ engaging the audience. Surprisingly, one man is crouching extremely low while he keeps his rhythmic pattern of steps and flow of movement. Shortly thereafter, is my favorite performance, the “Fancy Shawl Dance”. With a shawl decorated with beads, embroidery and feathers slung around their shoulders, they flamboyantly dance around doing multiple turns while holding the shawl with their arms spread wide. I was told that this is to resemble a butterfly coming out of its