{"id":1875,"date":"2016-01-29T14:59:24","date_gmt":"2016-01-29T14:59:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/?p=1875"},"modified":"2016-01-29T14:59:24","modified_gmt":"2016-01-29T14:59:24","slug":"native-american-dance-a-magical-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/2016\/01\/29\/native-american-dance-a-magical-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Native American Dance – A Magical Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’ve been fortunate to see Native American dances a couple of times during our travels throughout Colorado. The first was actually when the kids were very young and we went to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings. The other was when we were in the four corners area, which also provides you the opportunity to buy jewelry and other souvenirs that help to support members of that tribe’s reservation.\u00a0 The beautiful thing about Native American dance is that each dance has a special meaning, whether for prayer, mythology, telling a story, or celebration.\u00a0 Each dance can be accompanied by beating drums, the whistle of a flute, the chanting of the tribe members, or even bells and rattles. (Sorry for the quality of the pictures, they were from pre-digital days.)<\/p>\n

\"Dancers<\/a>
Dancers at Manitou Cliff Dwellings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dance<\/a>
Dance in Alamosa Colorado<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the drums begin to play, it is as if your heart falls in rhythm to each beat as the dancers began their graceful movements.\u00a0 In their ceremonial garments, each member of the dance troop has a role to play and from the youngest to the oldest, they take their dance traditions very seriously.\u00a0 When the chanting begins, you are carried away to a different time and place.\u00a0 You are no longer in the twenty-first century, but instead you are transported back to a time when buffalo still roamed the plains and the Native American tribes were the only people to inhabit North America.<\/p>\n

\"Child<\/a>
Child Dancer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dancers<\/a>
Dancers at Manitou<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a dancer sweeps across the dance area, spreading his feathered wings, he is no longer a dancer, but is instead a great eagle surveying the land and homes of the tribe’s forefathers.\u00a0 Warriors take to the battlefield as they recount the brave deeds done in a battle fought long ago, but not forgotten by the victorious tribe as they pay homage to their fallen heroes.\u00a0 Dance and storytelling are part of the Native American heritage.\u00a0 It is a way for them to not only embrace their culture, but to bring pride to their incredible history and traditions.<\/p>\n

\"Feather<\/a>
Feather Dance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Actually<\/a>
Actually a Little Scary<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are also dances, like the hoop dance, that were used to prepare young warriors or hunters for the agility and stealth required for their adulthood.\u00a0 Balance, grace, athleticism are all on display as the dancers twirl, jump, swoop across the dance area.\u00a0 The tribe bonds and children are introduced to their rituals and traditions.\u00a0 The garments are colorful and vibrant, meant to extenuate every movement.\u00a0 If you’ve had a chance to watch a Native American dance ceremony, you aren’t likely to soon forget it.\u00a0 It is well worth the experience to understand the culture and traditions of the Native Americans who have suffered greatly, but are still willing to share their dances with us.<\/p>\n

\"Hoop<\/a>
Hoop Dance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Female<\/a>
Female Dancer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"More<\/a>
More of the Dance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’ve been fortunate to see Native American dances a couple of times during our travels throughout Colorado. The first was actually when the kids were very young and we went to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings. The other was when we were in the four corners area, which also provides you the opportunity to buy jewelry … <\/p>\n

Continue reading Native American Dance – A Magical Experience<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89944846,"featured_media":1884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[180],"tags":[86902,594157732,1098,3990,53202,59912,436,110427,54266,200],"class_list":["post-1875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colorado","tag-ceremony","tag-colorado","tag-culture","tag-dance","tag-heritage","tag-native-american","tag-photography","tag-ritual","tag-tradition","tag-travel"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/scan0198.jpg?fit=1728%2C1120&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6pbM5-uf","jetpack-related-posts":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1875"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89944846"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1875"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1896,"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1875\/revisions\/1896"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}