The Thunderbird Dancers include narratives from the Cherokee, Winnebago, Choctaw and Hopi tribes.
By: Susan Van Dongen
The trends of smudging, shape-shifting workshops and shamanic journeying may be interesting and even healing to non-Native Americans, but Louis Mofsie, of Hopi and Winnebago descent, says Native Americans find it a little annoying.
"It’s the commercialization of Native American religion much of it is a fad and has no connection to our spirituality," he says.
So don’t expect an aura cleansing with burning sage when Mr. Mofsie and his colleagues from the Thunderbird Dancers appear in Plainsboro March 11. Do, however, look for plenty of colorful, regional tribal dance, presented with narrative stories from the troupe the oldest resident Native American dance company in New York City. Marking 43 years, the Thunderbird Dancers preserve Native American culture by performing dances from the Cherokee, Winnebago, Choctaw, Hopi tribes and more.
Their performance is one in a series of events presented by the West Windsor Arts Council in cooperation with Young Audiences of New Jersey. The Sunday Sampler Series is designed to give kids and their parents a chance to get together and enjoy the performing arts to take in something besides a movie at the multiplex or a meal at a chain restaurant.
So far, audiences have enjoyed Japanese-style drumming with Taikoza and Chinese traditional dance with Dance China New York. In addition to the Thunderbird Dancers, the series will present Mexico Beyond Mariachi (March 18) and the eclectic percussion ensemble Exit 9 (March 25).
"All of these artists go into the schools with their programs, and the kids really enjoy them and go home and talk about the events," says Coby Green-Rifkin of YANJ. "But they might not always remember who it was that they saw. Also, this way, they can share the experience with their parents."
Mr. Mofsie, who founded the Thunderbird Dancers, is a veteran of sharing Native American culture with young people. Through narration, he hopes to give the audience a better understanding of the meaning behind the various dances.
"The dances we do are still being done on the reservations," he says. "For example, there’s a dance the Iroquois do to celebrate the coming of spring, which we think is appropriate for this time of year. Then there are various ‘work dances,’ such as when the tribes followed the buffalo herds to hunt. Dancers would go out and dance but what they were really doing was taking their feet and crushing down the tall grass so there would be a smooth area to put down a camp.
"They’re social dances, however not sacred dances," Mr. Mofsie adds. "Those are part of a tribe’s religious observance so they’re not supposed to be performed outside of their sacred context. That would be sacrilegious. It also depends on the tribe. There isn’t one Native American religion they’re all different."
Normally the Thunderbird Dancers have more than 25 in their full troupe, but for this small venue, it will just be a trio. In addition to Mr. Mofsie with his Hopi (Arizona) and Winnebago (Oklahoma) heritage, one of the dancers is Choctaw (Oklahoma) and the other is Delaware, also called Lenape. With its tribal roots in New Jersey, the Delaware/Lenape were moved, like many other tribes, to Oklahoma. Mr. Mofsie says the audience can expect the brightly colored, feathered finery of tribes from the Great Plains.
"When people think of Native American dancing, what usually comes to mind is (the garb of) the Great Plains," he says. "That’s the most colorful and that’s how we dress because it’s the most familiar."
He explains that there are big differences in the style of garb, music and dance from one area of the country to the other. In a large-scale, two-hour concert, the Thunderbird Dancers usually have the chance, with their full troupe, to explore the dances of each region of the United States. But because the presentation in Plainsboro will be more brief, it will be more subdued, though equally entertaining.
Mr. Mofsie points out that the goal of the show is to entertain and educate but not to get political, so the darker subject matter how Native Americans were mistreated by the U.S. government will not be broached.
"Our main goal is to get people to understand the dances," he says. "There are many other aspects to our culture, but we’re just interested in the dance."
The Thunderbird Dancers will perform at the Millstone River School, 75 Grovers Mill Road, Plainsboro, March 11, 1 and 3 p.m. Tickets cost $7 and can be purchased at the door. There is no reserved seating and doors open at 12:15 p.m. for the 1 p.m. show, 2:15 p.m. for the 3 p.m. show. For information, call (609) 919-1982. On the Web: www.westwindsorarts.org

