In case you didn’t know, November is National Native American Heritage Month. And Camp Verde’s The Phillip England Center for the Performing Arts Foundation and the Verde Valley Archaeology Center have teamed up to celebrate the occasion with a performance from renowned Arizona hoop dancer Tony Duncan.
“The whole idea is to focus on Native American art and talent,” says Ken Zoll, executive director of the Verde Valley Archeology and President of the Phillip England Center Foundation. “And obviously, he’s an important person in the Native American community.”
Tony’s artistic resume is undeniably impressive. He’s won the title of “World Champion Hoop Dancer” five times. Tony, of the Apache and Arikara, Hidatsa and Mandan nations, has performed with singer Nelly Furtado and for audiences at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The National Museum of the American Indian, the Billboard Music Awards, The Tonight Show and The White House.
According to Tony’s website, hoop dancing originated from the Taos Pueblo of New Mexico as a way of healing. The art form can be a way of celebrating how living things are intertwined.
“The dancer uses hoops to create images and shapes that represent the many beautiful creations on Mother Earth. The hoop dance teaches us that we must respect and honor all of life as we are all connected in this great circle of life,” Tony’s website states.
But besides being a way to communicate, hoop dancing is also just plain fun to watch. Many think that hoop dancing is synonymous with hula-hula hooping. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. “He’ll have five, six, 10 hoops going at different times. Put them into different shapes. Dancing in them, out through, them. Very athletic, high-paced,” says Ken. “You basically go, ‘Oh, whoa,’ through the whole performance.” − Teresa K. Traverse
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