It's poetic that Nedalus Hamill, the son of a world champion hoop dancer, took his first steps in a Native American powwow arena when he was just one year old. He was literally following in his father's footsteps.
“I've been doing that all my life,” Hamill said of hoop dancing. “This dance was taught to me by my father when I was four years old, and it has been a major part of my life ever since.”
Now a world champion hoop dancer in his own right and a student at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Nedalus Hamill is the son of veteran and famous hoop dancer Brian Hamill. Brian Hamill founded the cultural entertainment company Native Spirit in 1997 as a way to share his Native American culture and dance with people across the United States and abroad.
The Hamill family was originally based in Phoenix, Arizona, but just a few years ago they moved Native Spirit's headquarters to Benton, Wisconsin.
The company performs approximately 300 shows a year. They will be coming to Madison in early April to perform at the Wisconsin Masonic Center on Saturday and Sunday, April 6th and 7th. The performance will also include a meet-and-greet session with the dancers. All dances performed by Native Spirits are what Nedalus Hamill calls “intertribal,” meaning that many tribes practice variations of all the dances performed.
“Each tribe, such as the Ho-Chunk or Navajo, has its own story behind the dances we perform, but there are no specific performances dedicated to a single tribe,” said people who call themselves Navajo or Diné. Hamill said. . He will be Native Spirit's lead hoop dancer at the event.
“We're trying to introduce dances that are a little more prevalent in Native American communities, because even though it's the same style, everyone has their own way of dancing. It's not the same every time. .”
There's no beginning and no end
Hoop dancers weave and balance multiple colorful hoops while chanting to the beat of a drum. Each hoop represents a never-ending journey through life, with no clear beginning or end.
“These formations tell stories, whether it's the warrior's journey, a popular story among the Ho-Chunks here in Wisconsin, or the stories I was told by the Navajo Desert tribe in Arizona. It was a dance created by children during a healing ceremony.
According to the story, the Navajo had a sacred healing ritual of passing a hoop over the body of a sick person. In doing so, another day, or even a year, was added to that person's life. When the tribe's children saw this ritual taking place, they created their own dance using hoops made from willow reeds.
“Rather than discouraging the children, the elders encouraged them to compose songs to go with the dance,” Hamill said. “This basically evolved into the dance that I do now.”
Another dance performed by Hamill's mother or sister at the Madison show is the Women's Fancy Shawl, more commonly known as the Butterfly Dance, in which dancers hang the shawl over their shoulders and dance with feathers. It looks like.
Hamill tells the story of a young woman who was grieving the death of her husband and withdrew from the world. The elders began to pray for the woman and received visions of her dancing.
“Eventually, the woman got out of the hut and started seeing many beautiful things in nature,” Hamill said. “When she returned, she took her shawl, draped it over her back, and began to dance. The elders saw this change, recognized the dance from a vision, and said that the woman had finally 'come out of the cocoon. “said.”
There is also a men's fancy dance, also known as the Fancy War Dance, featuring costumes in sensational colors. Originally, it was performed by tribal youths and young warriors, dancing slowly and methodically, telling stories of hunts and battles.
Over time, these hunts and battles became less and less common as more settlers settled on Native American lands. Dancers stopped going to war, and hunting became more complex as the economy grew. Around 1920-1930, the tribe had to find a new outlet for their warrior energy, adding quarter-horse-like spins and jumps to their dances.
“The elders didn't like the dance at first,” Hamill said. “They called it the 'crazy dance' and argued that it would never survive because it didn't tell a story. But if you look at it today, it's probably the most popular Native American dance.” He is one and tends to be the centerpiece.”
personal creativity
Nedalus Hamill says using more recognizable dances gives Native Spirit the opportunity to not only celebrate Native American culture, but also highlight the skill and creativity of individual dancers. .
“Going to dance championships allowed me to study other dancers, learn from their routines, and see if I could incorporate what I was seeing into my own dancing,” Hamill said.
“In this way, all of these performances are intended to bring together a variety of Native American performers and cultures and share it with all of you in Madison.”