The Hoop Dance

Barbara Diabo. Émily Kahente Diabo. Chelsea Rose Brazeau Okimawinew. Jennifer Brazeau. Rhiannon Lambert
August 26, 2017
Montreal

There are several versions of the hoop dance, some of which are used in healing ceremonies. It’s an ancestral art, but one that’s constantly evolving. Each nation that adopts it can adapt it. Because it was banned for so long, few people practise it. With Native Montreal’s collaboration, Barbara Diabo teaches hoop dancing to a group of young girls. Today, they’re rehearsing a dance from the New Mexico Pueblos, to the original music of the Canadian group A Tribe Called Red. Their movements tell a story by creating images inspired by nature. Symbols of the sacred cycle of life, their hoops come to life before our eyes.