Modern hoop dancing is a relatively new art form among Native American tribes. In the 1930s and 1940s only a handful of people were performing the stylized dance in front of public audiences. Today, that number is close to 1,000.
Some of the continent’s best dancers were in midtown Phoenix this past weekend showcasing their skills at one of the world’s largest hoop dancing competitions.
Under the late afternoon sun, 16-year-old hoop dancer Talon Duncan confidently walks to the center of the Heard Museum amphitheater.
After carefully arranging a group of 16 yellow and black hoops on the sandy dancing surface, the Mesa based dancer turns to competition officials and nods when he’s ready to begin. Duncan has six minutes to complete his dance.
As the drum beat starts, Duncan begins moving his body in sync with the rhythm. One by one he kicks up the hoops with his feet, jumping through them and spinning them on his arms.
The average dance hoop is about two feet in diameter, which is slightly smaller than a hula hoop. After about a minute, Duncan begins maneuvering several of them with his legs, arms and hands forming shapes like an eagle, and a butterfly. Eventually he works his way up to a set of moves involving all 16 hoops.
Not everyone uses 16 hoops in competition like Duncan. Some compete with as few as four. And judge Leslie Deer said more doesn’t necessarily mean better.
"I think that you can do just as many shapes with four or five hoops as you can with 30 hoops," she said.
She explains that judges score dancers based on their performance in five categories: precision, timing, showmanship, creativeness and speed.
"How well dancers can transition from one shape to another shape without dropping hoops or losing their momentum or their step or anything like that," Deer said. "So it’s just a combination of a lot of different things coming together."
While the exact origins of hoop dancing aren't totally clear, many say the practice began in the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico as a tradition performed at wedding ceremonies. However, today, multiple tribes have formed a connection with the art form.
"Each dancer has their own story of how it came to them or their tribe," said Dennis Zotigh, one of the competition's founders.
He said for many Native American cultures, the hoop itself symbolizes the circle of life, with no beginning or ending.
"The actual hoop is a medicinal item used by both holy men and women," Zotigh said. "And visions and ailments were seen through some of these hoops in some of their doctoring practices."
Zotigh said the stylized and modern form of hoop dancing started gaining traction in the 1930s when a man named Tony White Cloud of the Jemez Pueblo was seen performing at events like Chicago’s Railroad Fair. Since then the practice has grown significantly, he said. Even Cirque De Soleil has incorporated hoop dancing into one of its traveling shows.
"And it's opened doors for travel throughout the world. Like any art form those who are proficient and well known are like rock stars," Zotigh said.
About 25 tribes from the United States and Canada were represented at last weekend’s competition. And Heard Museum officials estimate it drew a crowd of around 3,500 people.
As for teen division competitor Talon Duncan, he finished his dance as confidently as he started. And while he says winning is always nice, that’s not the only reason he competes each year.
"I just enjoy dancing, and dancing with all these other hoop dancers, seeing how good they are and just, you know, learning from them too," Duncan said.
After the final round Duncan earned a total of 224 points, enough to get him a third place spot in his division.
