While it is a firmly modern dance, hoop dance has traditional roots as well. Hoop dancing initially was a healing ceremony, according to some dancers, and most sources point to Taos as the original location. Donald Brown reports that it began as a performance for tourists; the Laubins say it began as a storytelling dance in the Great Lakes region . In all accounts, the modern hoop dance is not a traditional dance like those in powwows or spiritual like the dances of the Yup’ik. It has meaning and importance, but falls outside of older dance traditions. One aspect of the dance that does tie into prominent spiritual beliefs is the hoop itself. Circles and hoops play large roles in the beliefs of many different tribes, symbolizing “the world, and even the universe” (Laubins, 479). As one musician put it, the hoop dance “really is about the beauty of our world” .

Comment on this page