"Last February, master of ceremonies Dennis Bowen (a Seneca elder) welcomed the reigning champion into the 2025 World Championship Hoop Dance Contest arena at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. Thousands of spectators joined them to watch more than 100 dancers compete across the two-day event. Bowen announced Josiah Enriquez's (Pueblo of Pojoaque, Navajo, Isleta) accomplishments as a top place finisher several years running in the teen division and as the surprise winner in an unprecedented tiebreaking round in the adult division the year before."
"Enriquez, dressed in orange-and-white regalia, acknowledged the crowd with a broad smile, paid his respects to the judges and checked once more the position of the six hoops he had laid on the ground. In anticipation of the first beat of the drum, his smile faded and his focus sharpened. As the music began, his feet tapped to the rhythm and soon, to the crowd's delight, Enriquez's entire body joined with moves that made his fur anklets shimmer"
The 2025 World Championship Hoop Dance Contest at the Heard Museum in Phoenix drew thousands and featured more than 100 dancers over two days. Dennis Bowen, a Seneca elder and long-time emcee, noted Josiah Enriquez's repeated success in the teen division and his prior surprise adult-division tiebreaker win. Enriquez performed a seven-minute routine in orange-and-white regalia using six hoops to form winged creatures, animal motions, and dramatic returns, finishing visibly moved. Bowen emphasized connecting children to songs, drum groups, and teachers. Hoop dancing serves as a healing tradition, with the willow hoop symbolizing the unbroken circle of life.
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
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