Post by blackcrowheart on Jun 4, 2007 20:27:43 GMT -5
Teen champion hoop dancer
By Lezlee E. Whiting
For the Deseret Morning News
Charles Denny was 8 years old when his grandfather, Jerry Saddleback, could see his grandson possessed "the gift."
Denny FamilyCharles Denny performs in front of about 10,000 spectators in Phoenix in February. Saddleback, a well-known and respected hoop dancer in Canada, had shown young Charles how to move the hoops through his arms and overhead, and how to pick them up with his feet in a motion so fluid it was like paint strokes on a canvas.
Charles, a half Ute and half Chippewa-Cree Indian who lives on the Ute Indian Reservation in eastern Utah, is now a 17-year-old junior at Uintah High School. And this month, he earned the title of World Champion Teen Hoop Dancer at a competition held at the Heard Museum in Phoenix.
"My grandpa told me the hoop dance is something that doesn't belong to just anyone," said Charles. "You have to keep it sacred."
Charles had danced at pow wows ever since he began walking. So dancing was nothing new to him. But when his grandfather showed him how to dance with hoops — sometimes dozens of them — that was new.
From the first time Charles tried hoop dancing, there was no doubt for him or anyone watching that he indeed had that special gift. He was a natural.
"It's a spiritual dance — it is something that you really don't go ask for," said Charles' mother, Ballard-area resident Leliliah Ossie Denny, who is a member of the Ute Tribe. "A lot of kids could say they want to do that, but it is just like a lot of our other ceremonies, you have to be given this dance. It's a gift that was given to him."
Now a mature young man who is tall with the powerful build of an athlete, Charles' skills as a hoop dancer are in demand, and he recognizes his grandfather's words were true.
"He told me to 'take care of it, and it will take care of you,'" said Charles.
Hoop dancing has taken Charles to places including the National Mall and the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., to dance in honor of the opening of the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of the American Indian. He also went to Marietta, Ga., for the dedication and consecration of St. Catherine's Church.
He performed at the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and over the years, he has traveled to several states, where he has been invited to perform at special events at schools.
The hoop dance, steeped in centuries of tradition, has always carried a spiritual significance and is recognized for its powers to promote healing and vision.
"It is a specialty dance," said Leliliah Denny. "They don't hold competitions all over. It is a healing, a spiritual dance. He only dances at special times when he is asked."
Watching Charles, it appears as though the hoop dancer is part magician, forming geometric designs with hoops seeming to float through his hands and on his feet. As he dances, he turns the hoops into the wings of an eagle that soars to the beat of the drum.
He spins and entwines his arms and legs with hoops that appear to pass through his body, as he honors the circle of life that the hoops represent.
The first hoops used in Native American hoop dance were made of redwood willow. Charles uses plastic hoops, which he decorates with his own designs. He carries 24 hoops with him to every performance and competition.
In his dances, he uses five to 24 hoops, and he says he never knows exactly what dance he will perform, because he shies away from becoming mired down in a "routine." Before he dances, he prepares through prayer and meditation. He goes where his mind and his heart take him for the dance.
"It is never a practiced routine," he said.
The world championships this month drew about 80 competitors in several different age categories. Charles faced 19 other teenagers from across the United States and Canada in the two-day event, where he danced before the judges and about 10,000 spectators to earn the championship title. The previous two years, Charles took home second place at the annual contest.
"I love making designs and doing different things with the hoops and making people fascinated with the dance," he said.
All of the bead work on the colorful regalia that Charles wears is hand-sewn by his mother. The beadwork is "a constant project," said his mom.
He maintains good grades and stays on top of his school work, even with a demanding travel schedule. In his free time, he enjoys snowboarding at Colorado ski resorts and following the pow wow trail. He also helps out whenever he can at the Native American Wellness Institute.
By Lezlee E. Whiting
For the Deseret Morning News
Charles Denny was 8 years old when his grandfather, Jerry Saddleback, could see his grandson possessed "the gift."
Denny FamilyCharles Denny performs in front of about 10,000 spectators in Phoenix in February. Saddleback, a well-known and respected hoop dancer in Canada, had shown young Charles how to move the hoops through his arms and overhead, and how to pick them up with his feet in a motion so fluid it was like paint strokes on a canvas.
Charles, a half Ute and half Chippewa-Cree Indian who lives on the Ute Indian Reservation in eastern Utah, is now a 17-year-old junior at Uintah High School. And this month, he earned the title of World Champion Teen Hoop Dancer at a competition held at the Heard Museum in Phoenix.
"My grandpa told me the hoop dance is something that doesn't belong to just anyone," said Charles. "You have to keep it sacred."
Charles had danced at pow wows ever since he began walking. So dancing was nothing new to him. But when his grandfather showed him how to dance with hoops — sometimes dozens of them — that was new.
From the first time Charles tried hoop dancing, there was no doubt for him or anyone watching that he indeed had that special gift. He was a natural.
"It's a spiritual dance — it is something that you really don't go ask for," said Charles' mother, Ballard-area resident Leliliah Ossie Denny, who is a member of the Ute Tribe. "A lot of kids could say they want to do that, but it is just like a lot of our other ceremonies, you have to be given this dance. It's a gift that was given to him."
Now a mature young man who is tall with the powerful build of an athlete, Charles' skills as a hoop dancer are in demand, and he recognizes his grandfather's words were true.
"He told me to 'take care of it, and it will take care of you,'" said Charles.
Hoop dancing has taken Charles to places including the National Mall and the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., to dance in honor of the opening of the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of the American Indian. He also went to Marietta, Ga., for the dedication and consecration of St. Catherine's Church.
He performed at the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and over the years, he has traveled to several states, where he has been invited to perform at special events at schools.
The hoop dance, steeped in centuries of tradition, has always carried a spiritual significance and is recognized for its powers to promote healing and vision.
"It is a specialty dance," said Leliliah Denny. "They don't hold competitions all over. It is a healing, a spiritual dance. He only dances at special times when he is asked."
Watching Charles, it appears as though the hoop dancer is part magician, forming geometric designs with hoops seeming to float through his hands and on his feet. As he dances, he turns the hoops into the wings of an eagle that soars to the beat of the drum.
He spins and entwines his arms and legs with hoops that appear to pass through his body, as he honors the circle of life that the hoops represent.
The first hoops used in Native American hoop dance were made of redwood willow. Charles uses plastic hoops, which he decorates with his own designs. He carries 24 hoops with him to every performance and competition.
In his dances, he uses five to 24 hoops, and he says he never knows exactly what dance he will perform, because he shies away from becoming mired down in a "routine." Before he dances, he prepares through prayer and meditation. He goes where his mind and his heart take him for the dance.
"It is never a practiced routine," he said.
The world championships this month drew about 80 competitors in several different age categories. Charles faced 19 other teenagers from across the United States and Canada in the two-day event, where he danced before the judges and about 10,000 spectators to earn the championship title. The previous two years, Charles took home second place at the annual contest.
"I love making designs and doing different things with the hoops and making people fascinated with the dance," he said.
All of the bead work on the colorful regalia that Charles wears is hand-sewn by his mother. The beadwork is "a constant project," said his mom.
He maintains good grades and stays on top of his school work, even with a demanding travel schedule. In his free time, he enjoys snowboarding at Colorado ski resorts and following the pow wow trail. He also helps out whenever he can at the Native American Wellness Institute.