World-class hoop dancer Nakotah LaRance dies
Indian Country Today
7/14/2020
Champion hoop dancer Nakotah LaRance, who traveled the world
performing with Cirque du Soleil then returned to New Mexico to coach youth dancers, has died
at age 30.
LaRance, who was Tewa, Hopi, Navajo and Assiniboine, died
Sunday after he accidentally fell from a bridge in New
Mexico’s Rio
Arriba County,
said his father, Steve LaRance.
Nakotah LaRance started dancing when he was 5, Indian
Country Today reported. His father took him to a powwow where he met champion
hoop dancer Derrick Davis, who made him his first set of hoops and started
teaching him how to dance.
Native hoop dancing involves doing intricate footwork while
twirling and throwing hoops in the air and manipulating them into shapes such
as wings, tails, an open alligator mouth or a sphere.
“The hoop dance is a healing ceremony,” Steve LaRance said.
“Just a super energy that comes out of performing gives people a whole other
feeling about them, what they saw and even about themselves.”
One of Nakotah LaRance’s moves was to create a sphere with
several hoops and toss it into the air, then step into the hoops as they came
down and turn them into wings.
“Nakotah was known for delivering fearless and thrilling
performances,” said Dan Hagerty, director of strategic development and planning
at the Heard Museum
in Phoenix.
“His risk-taking in the hoop arena resulted in unforgettable performances, and
he will forever remain a fan favorite.”
LaRance began competing in the Heard’s annual World
Championship Hoop Dance Contest as a youth. He won championship titles in each
category, and won the adult division – earning the title of World Champion – three
times, in 2015, 2016 and 2018.
LaRance also performed on NBC’s “Tonight Show” with Jay
Leno, which led to some acting roles, including a part in Steven Spielberg’s
2005 television series “Into the West.”
In 2009, at the age of 20, Nakotah became a principal dancer
with Cirque du Soleil and traveled the world performing in its shows for more
than three years.
“He really was a top performer,” said George Rivera, family
friend and co-founder of a youth dance group. “Most human beings, even if
they’re dancers, would never be able to pull off what he could pull off with
his style. And the fact that he was trained to Cirque du Soleil just gave him a
whole ’nother dimension of gymnastics and athletic ability as well.”
LaRance later returned to northern New Mexico, where he created a youth group,
the Pueblo of Pojoaque Youth Hoop Dancers. He was also a master instructor at
the Lightning Boy Foundation Youth Hoop Dancers.
“His biggest love was giving back to the Native American
youth as a teacher, a mentor for Native American hoop dancing,” Steve LaRance
said.
Jojo Vigil, 15, started learning from Nakotah LaRance seven
years ago. He said his coach helped boost his confidence.
“He was someone I could talk to who could help me with a lot
of stuff,” Vigil said. “He was just an overall, just great guy.”
The family plans to hold a memorial once the pandemic is
over.
LaRANCE, Nakotah
Born: 8/23/1989, OhKay Owingeh Pueblo,
New Mexico, U.S.A.
Died: 7/12/2020, Rio Arrriba County, New
Mexico, U.S.A.
Nakotah La Rance’s
westerns – actor:
Into the West (TV) – 2005 (Young Voices That Carry/George)
The Work and the Glory II: American Zion (TV) – 2005 (Pidgeon)
The Work and the Glory II: A House Divided (TV) – 2006 (Pidgeon)
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
(TV) – 2007 (Crowfoot)
Longmire (TV) – 2012 (Junior)
Lightning in the Hand – 2014 (Ulysses)
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