Two Native New Mexico dancers win accolades as ‘changemakers’
, 2022-12-14 12:33:14,
Natalie Benally gives instructions to a young dancer who is standing in front of her. (Courtesy of Ernie Zahn)
Copyright © 2022 Albuquerque Journal
When Natalie Benally was growing up on the Navajo Nation, she saw Michael Jackson popping and moonwalking on MTV.
He couldn’t find anyone around who could teach him the traditional dance.
So, he invented his own indigenous stew of styles, blending forms of hip-hop, pop, and house with native culture.
Dance/USA, the national service organization for dance, recently awarded the Albuquerque artist a $30,167 grant for sustained practices in art for social change. ShanDien Sonwai LaRance (Hopi, Tewa, Navajo and Assiniboine), champion hoop dancer Ohkay Owingeh, who toured as a principal dancer with Cirque du Soleil, also received a scholarship. New Mexico women were two of 30 dance and movement-based artists to receive the grants supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Benally and LaRance advanced through a seven-month, multi-phase review process that included 27 peer readers and 10 panelists. They were selected from an initial 413 applicants from across the US.
ShanDien Sonwai LaRance poses in her Native American Hoop Dance outfit, holding five white geometric flower/basket hoops in both hands. (Courtesy of Wes Cunningham/One Trip Media)
“Natalie Benally and ShanDien Sonwai LaRance are brilliant changemakers who demonstrate significant alignment with these values in their work. Dance/United States…
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