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s is true with all contemporary Native American art and performance, dance has its share of shining stars, and new ones are rising all the time. Among the brightest of those stars, with one of the most recognizable names in the Indian dance universe, is seven-time world champion hoop dancer Nakotah LaRance, whose first steps through the hoop at just 5 years of age were under the guidance of seven-time world titlist Derrick Suwaima Davis. LaRance, for whom the hoop dance represents “the beauty of the world … balance … and Mother Earth,” excelled at the art form, to understate things just a bit, and was soon winning virtually every competition he entered. Through Davis’ instruction, LaRance refined his technique. His dance skills were plain to see, but something else was equally apparent: LaRance possessed a Creator-given gift, one that explained his ability to soar effortlessly through the air, with a dozen or more hoops in various degrees of possession, some aloft and some encircling him, and then land surefootedly as if he had been standing motionless the entire time.
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To no one’s surprise, LaRance, a resident of Ohkay Owingeh (formerly San Juan) Pueblo, who is of Hopi, Navajo, Tewa and Assiniboine descent, was soon discovered by a talent scout for Cirque de Soleil. In a quick and much deserved sweep of fate and reward, young LaRance was sought out by the world-renowned circus and became one of its premier dancers. This in turn inspired his 2004 appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where he was billed as “The Most Interesting Person in Arizona.” Several acting engagements were soon to follow, most memorably in Three Wise Guys (USA Network), Not Like Everyone Else: The True Story of Brandi Blackbear (Lifetime), and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (HBO). Earlier this year, LaRance equaled his former mentor, taking his seventh title as world champion at the Heard Museum’s 25th World Hoop Dance Competitions in Phoenix, Arizona. It seems things have come full circle there. Nakotah LaRance can be reached at dlfineart@aol.com.
taosnews.com/lwpt • Land Water People Time •
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