Concluding the Center for the Arts’ Great Performances at Mason 2022-2023 season, Indigenous Enterprise performs on April 29. Comprised of champion dancers from Native American and Canadian tribes and Nations, this group first stunned crowds at the Sydney Opera House in 2018 and has been on the rise since. “Indigenous Enterprise is rooted in tradition but also has hip-hop influences, discernible in footwork, bounce, and especially attitude,” writes The New York Times. They have appeared in music videos, on NBC’S World of Dance, as part of President Biden’s virtual inauguration parade, as well as at the opening festivities of the 2023 Super Bowl LVII. See them here on NBC’s World of Dance.
The group’s newest work, Indigenous Liberation, debuted November 2021 at New York City’s Joyce Theater to glowing praise. Indigenous Liberation invites its audience to revel in the pageantry, history, and kaleidoscope of colors in a celebration of what lies at the heart of these powerful traditions. “The dances are beautiful to behold on their own, but equally spellbinding is the colorful regalia that the dancers wear to perform them,” Vogue Magazine states. Learn more about Indigenous Enterprise’s mission to “preserve, promote, and advance Indigenous culture through the power of powwow song and dance” by watching KQED Arts’ award-winning video series, If Cities Can Dance.
“We are trying to build bridges through art,” company member Acosia Red Elk tells the PBS blog #PBSForTheArts. To that end, the Center for the Arts is thrilled to welcome the troupe as a Mason Artist-in-Residence, to work with the community through classes and workshops during the week surrounding the April 29 performance at the Center for the Arts. Indigenous Enterprise will participate in an Artists in Conversation event, co-presented by the City of Fairfax and the Center for the Arts at the Stacey C. Sherwood Community Center on April 25 at 7 p.m. The lecture-demonstration will include a discussion about the company’s origins, heritage, and culture, accompanied by a demonstration of authentic dance and song in traditional regalia. Following the event will be an opportunity for audience members to ask questions. This event is free, and requires registration. More residency events will be announced.
Buy your tickets today for the April 29 Indigenous Liberation program at 8 p.m. at the Center for the Arts featuring Indigenous Enterprise. The artists will also participate in an April 29 pre-show discussion at 7:15 p.m. in Monson Grand Tier, which is located on the third level of the Center for the Arts Lobby, and in a post-performance discussion from the stage.
Indigenous Liberation was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.