American Indian Dance Theatre
Encyclopedia
American Indian Dance Theatre is a professional performing arts company presenting the dances and songs of Native Americans in the United States
and the First Nations
of Canada
. The group was founded in 1987 and includes members from many different tribal backgrounds.
In 2006 American Indian Dance Theatre joined a multicultural consortium called the "Cultural Roundtable" at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, created to bring multicultural theatre to audiences in the Los Angeles Theatre Center venues in downtown Los Angeles
. Other performance groups belonging to the Cultural Roundtable include the Latino Theater Company
, Playwrights' Arena, Robey Theatre Company
, Culture Clash
and Cedar Grove OnStage
.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
and the First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The group was founded in 1987 and includes members from many different tribal backgrounds.
In 2006 American Indian Dance Theatre joined a multicultural consortium called the "Cultural Roundtable" at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, created to bring multicultural theatre to audiences in the Los Angeles Theatre Center venues in downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
. Other performance groups belonging to the Cultural Roundtable include the Latino Theater Company
Latino Theater Company
The Latino Theater Company is a theatre producing organization based in Los Angeles, California.- History :Latino Theater Company was founded in 1985 by its Artistic Director, Jose Luis Valenzuela. Known as the "Latino Theater Lab" and based at the Los Angeles Theatre Center , they produced plays...
, Playwrights' Arena, Robey Theatre Company
Robey Theatre Company
Robey Theatre Company is a Los Angeles-based non-profit theatre company.- History :Robey Theatre Company was founded in 1994 by Danny Glover and Ben Guillory. It takes its name from the pioneering Black actor and activist, Paul Robeson...
, Culture Clash
Culture Clash (performance troupe)
Culture Clash is an Chicano American performance troupe composed of the writer-comedians Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas, and Herbert Sigüenza. Their work is of a satirical nature....
and Cedar Grove OnStage
Cedar Grove OnStage
Cedar Grove OnStage is an Asian Pacific American theatre arts organization established in 2006, based in Los Angeles, co-founded by playwright Tim Toyama and actor/director Chris Tashima who serves as Artistic Director...
.
Films
- American Indian Dance Theatre. Vol. 1, Finding the Circle (1996). Originally produced in 1989 as a segment of the PBS television series Great Performances/Dance in America. A production of WNET/Thirteen in association with Tatge/Lasseur Productions, Inc. Directed by Merrill Brockway. Phoenix, Arizona: Canyon RecordsCanyon RecordsCanyon Records of Phoenix, Arizona has produced and distributed Native American music for 56 years. Canyon was founded in 1951 by Ray and Mary Boley, who had opened the first recording studio in Phoenix, Arizona Recording Productions, in 1948...
& Indian Arts. Presents a variety of Indian dances, performed on stage and at various international powwows. Includes hoop danceNative American Hoop DanceNative American Hoop Dance is a form of storytelling dance incorporating anywhere from one to thirty hoops as props, which are used to create both static and dynamic shapes, or formations, representing various animals, shapes, and storytelling elements. It is generally performed by a solo dancer...
, eagle dance, ApacheApacheApache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
crown dance, Zuni rainbow dance, powwow dances (grass, men's traditional and fancy, women's fancy shawl), plains snake and buffalo dance. - American Indian Dance Theatre (1996). Dances for the New Generations. Originally produced in 1993 as a segment of the PBS television series Great Performances/Dance in America. Produced by Barbara Schwei and Hanay Geiogamah, in association with Phil Lucas Productions. Directed by Phil LucasPhil LucasPhil Lucas was an American filmmaker of mostly Native American themes. He acted, wrote, produced, directed or edited more than 100 films/documentaries or television programs starting as early as 1979 when he wrote/co-produced and co-directed Images of Indians for PBS - a five-part series exploring...
and Hanay Geiogamah. A production of WNET for the Great Performances Alliance. Phoenix, Arizona: Canyon Records & Indian Arts. A presentation of various Native American Indian dances performed with Native American drums and music accompaniment. The dancers, in their native costumes and makeup, perform in various settings, including a powwow. Includes dances from the Northwest (Makah and KwakiutlKwakiutlThe term Kwakiutl, historically applied to the entire Kwakwaka'wakw ethno-linguistic group of originally 28 tribes, comes from one of the Kwakwaka'wakw tribes, the Kwagu'ł or Kwagyeulth, at Fort Rupert, with whom Franz Boas did most of his anthropological work and whose Indian Act Band government...
), Northeast (SenecaSeneca nationThe Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...
and Penobscot), and Plains. 60 min.