Photos by Jessica Zook
The sun beat down on Dallas Arcand Sunday as he danced to the beating of Native American drums in the final round at the 22nd Annual World Championship Hoop Dance Contest at the Heard Museum.
Arcand, the 2006 and 2007 World Champion, transformed into a flash of red, orange and white as he twirled around the circular dirt stage with 12 orange hoops encasing his body. Cheers rang as he looped the rings into formations creating a horse, flower and eagle.
Arcand nodded to the head singer, signaling he was near the end of his routine. The singer hit the drums louder as Arcand, from the Kipohtakaw Cree Nation, tossed a hoop on the ground and executed a cartwheel over the ring as it rolled back. At the last beat, Arcand grabbed the hoop, landed on the ground, yelled and froze.
More than 300 people applauded and whistled as they sat or stood on the grassy hill behind the museum’s Steele Auditorium.
Arcand later was announced the 2012 World Champion in the Adult Division.
Five judges from across the nation rated the contestants on speed, precision, showmanship, creativity, rhythm and timing.
Cash prizes and champion titles were held for each division. However, no titles were given in the Tiny Tots division, and the seven young dancers split $200. World Champions were Tiana Schocko in Youth, Tyrese Jensen in Teen, Brian Hammill in Senior and Arcand in Adult.
“Awesome. That’s the only word for how this is,” Arcand said, holding his first place trophy.
Hoop dancing is thought to have begun in Taos Pueblo, New Mexico. The hoop, or circle, symbolizes life for Native Americans. The dance was used during healing ceremonies and is seen more now in dance circles, powwows and contests.
Fifty-four other Native American dancers participated in the competition that began Saturday. They were divided into five divisions: Tiny Tots, Youth, Teen, Adult and Senior. The Adult Division, with 19 competitors, was the feature of the event.
Total audience members vary each year from 5,000 to 9,000 people as people don’t stay the entire time, said Debra Krol, Heard Museum Communications Manager. Fry bread was available to eat, and spectators were encouraged to visit the Heard Museum with its recent exhibition “Beyond Geronimo: The Apache Experience.”
Participants’ regalia, native outfits, ranged from simple, bright clothing to shirts with intricate beadwork and designs. Dancing styles also varied as some moved quickly with aggressive motions while others gently blended in with the hoops. Family members in different divisions could be seen doing similar moves and dancing in the same manner.
Shelbi Pourier, 23, grew up with hoop dancing as a tradition in her family. Pourier said all the dancers were good, but she especially liked Jasmine Rae Pickner-Bell, a Crow Creek Dakota from Riverton, Wyoming, who used more than 15 hoops.
“She was my favorite. She had a different dance technique. She had the hoops come together to create shapes I’ve never seen before,” Pourier said.
For most participants, hoop dancing is a family tradition like Pourier.
Erin Goedel-Campbell, 32, and her sister and brother were in the adult division this year. Goedel-Campbell learned the family practice from her father, Terry, when she was 14 years old. Her father, a world champion, competed in the Senior Division and placed third while her brother, Michael, placed sixth.
“It’s a talent passed off to me, and I feel like sharing it with others,” Geodel-Campbell said, a Yakima, Tulalip and Lumbee Native American.
For Chantika Hazell, hoop dancing was at first another way to compete with her older brother. Her mother, Ginette, said Hazell’s grandmother was still very happy that her grandchildren picked up the family tradition.
Hazell, 16, and her family traveled from Alberta, Canada for the 2012 competition.
“It means everything to me. It’s my life. It’s my world,” Hazell said, who placed third in the Teen Division in 2011.
Tony Duncan, the 2011 Adult World Champion, learned basic designs of hoop dancing from his father, Ken, when he was five years old. Duncan performs with his parents and six siblings in their family dance company Yellow Bird Indian Dancers. They have performed in Taiwan, Milan, Bolivia and Ecuador.
With each performance, he said he wanted the audience to see a tale in his routine through the shapes he created.
“Each dance is a journey through life; the images are unique to your life and you make designs from it. I hope people see my energy, rhythm and take away my story,” Duncan said, who is Apache, Hidastsa, Mandan and Arikara.
Duncan, 28, has continued the practice within his own family. His 2-year-old daughter, Manaya, performed in the Tiny Tots division. Duncan’s sons, Talon Ree and Jonathan Sky, competed in the Teen Division; Talon Ree Duncan placed third.
Duncan placed third in the Adult Division. He said his father’s teachings are on his mind whenever he performs in competitions.
“I’ve always been told to dance for people who can’t dance, for the next generations. I think of my father and ancestors. When I’m tired, they give me the strength to continue,” Duncan said.
World Champion Arcand, however, learned hoop dancing from a school friend when he was 14-years-old. He said wants to share this tradition with others by opening a performing arts center at the Kipohtakaw reservation in Alberta, Canada.
“This made me realize I got to be stronger for the next generation,” Arcand said. “Giving and sharing, that’s one of the teachings of our people. Giving this is a gift.”
Contact the reporter alicia.canales@asu.edu
