At Sunday’s performance of the Kevin Locke Native Dance Ensemble at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center the audience will be captured with a blur of movement, hoop dancing, powerful drums, fancy and traditional dancing, soaring powwow vocals, flute songs, cultural insight and Northern Plains sign language. The program begins at 3 o’clock.
The ensemble has been performing since 2001 and represents the Plains nations of Lakota, Anishinabe and Comanche, the Southeastern tribe Choctaw and the Woodlands nations of Ojibwe and Oneida.
Kevin Locke (Tokaheya Inajin is his Lakota name, meaning “The First to Arise”) is known throughout the world as a visionary hoop dancer, the preeminent player of the indigenous Northern Plains flute, a traditional storyteller, cultural ambassador, recording artist and educator.
Locke is acknowledged to be the pivotal force in the now powerful revival of the indigenous flute tradition, which teetered on the brink of extinction in the latter half of the 20th century. He was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts, which recognized him as a “Master Traditional Artist who has contributed to the shaping of our artistic traditions and to preserving the cultural diversity of the United States.”
A highlight of any Kevin Locke Native Dance Ensemble concert is when the audience is invited to participate in hoop dancing, social dancing, songs and sign language.
The troupe will perform again at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday at the Bowlus for middle school students.
Tickets are available at the Iola Pharmacy, Bowlus office and at the door performance day.
Heritage on display
