Performance Circle Class teaches children to powwow dance

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The Performance Circle classes offered at the Ziibiwing Cultural Center gives children a chance to express themselves through the art of powwow dancing.

On Tuesday evening at the center, 6650 E. Broadway St., seven children between the ages of three and 16 participated in group activities involving dancing to the “Black Lodge Kids Powwow Songs,” musical chairs and “the name game.”

John Quintero, Mount Pleasant resident and grandfather of 3-year-old Keaten and 2-year-old Bryson, said it was their first year attending the class.

“Their father and grandma learned to dance at Powwow Trails,” Quintero said. “This class is different, but there are also a lot of new kids here along with Keaten and Bryson that will work their way up. They pick it up pretty well. It’s fun to bring the kids to the pow-wow and watch them scatter.”

Chuck Butzin, instructor of the Peformance Circle class, described the first of the 13 sessions as a ‘cool beginning.’

“They were super shy, but they warm up after a couple weeks,” Butzin said. “They will eventually come out off their shell.”

One of the participants, 8-year-old Sway Mandoka from Renaissance Academy, spent the first part sitting but eventually warmed up to the class.

Simon Jackson said she brought her grandchild to the class last year and they started out shy, and this year they were dancing a lot more.

“It’s good for the kids, especially after their first day of school,” Jackson said.

Mandoka’s grandmother, Mount Pleasant resident Debra Slater said it was the first time they attended the class, which she said was exciting.

The class charges $30, which covers the cost of  snacks for the kids, as well as supplies such as a television, speakers for the music and native dress.

The class is divided among the Junior Performance Circle, which meets on every Tuesday until Dec. 13 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., and the Senior Performers, who meet from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The Senior Performers Circle is for the children with prior experience with the Junior Performance Circle. The classes have been going on since 2005, Butzin said.