More than a song and dance

Jimmy Stroup

Dancers from the Southern California Indian Center Inc. gave

fairgoers a little song and dance to enjoy at the Orange County Fair.

It just wasn’t the kind of song and dance they might be used to.

Dressed in traditional Native American clothing from several

different time periods, eight performers on Friday danced a variety

of culturally significant dances to drum music and native song. Phil

Hale, the center’s education program director, spoke to the crowd

explaining the dances and costumes, then performed the singing and

drum rhythm.

“It’s pretty much how Indian people express themselves,” he said.

Native American dance sometimes tells a story that gets passed

through the generations, Hale said. Native cultures relied on oral

history as a way of maintaining traditions and passing along

spiritually significant legends, he said.

The dances were performed by children, teenagers and young adults

of Native American descent who have gone through courses at the

center that teach the cultural meaning and proper movement of the

dances. The dances help the young people stay in touch -- or

sometimes discover -- their native heritage, Hale said.

“It’s good to learn the non-Indian ways, but still, in your heart,

keep your traditions alive,” he said.

The 10 dances performed in the hour-long show included a mix of

traditional female and male dances, as well as a demonstration of the

“Women’s Jingle Dance,” the “Women’s Shawl Dance” and four

performances of the “Men’s Fancy Feather Dance.”

The jingle dance was performed by Starr Robideau and historically

comes from the Chippewa people, a Great Plains tribe that once made

dancing dresses decorated with elk bone that created a jingling sound

when the dancer moved.

The sound from Robideau’s dress was made from the rolled up

chewing tobacco lids that are tied to it, Hale said, giving some

background into the hows and whys of the dress and the dance.

“These people are the original people from this continent,” said

Paige Newcomb, an Alpine, Calif., resident who decided to go in late

to work so she could catch the show. “I think they should be

supported. It was great. I think they should do this three times a

day.”

Near the end of the performance, Hale invited audience members to

come onto the stage for the “Round Dance” with the performers.

Irvine residents Laura Elbaum and her friend Holly Vickery, both

9, danced in the social while Laura’s father, Rich, watched from the

audience.

“I thought it was terrific,” he said. “I enjoyed seeing lots of

different cultures represented.”

In all, eight tribes from the United States and Canada were

represented in the lineages of the dancers on stage, including

Navajo, (South) Dakota Sioux, Chippewa, Southern Cheyenne, Chumash,

Kickapoo, Apache and Paiute.

The center’s dancers perform more than 20 times a year at various

events around Southern California, including the center’s annual

powwow, which this year is at the Orange County Fairgrounds from Aug.

27 to 29.

“We do a lot of these performances at schools, community

organizations, fairs -- anywhere we can go to educate people about a

little part of the Indian culture,” Hale said.