Tsuu T’ina Pow Wow: Friday’s Grand Entrance
The Pow Wow is the centre of the Tsuu T’ina Nation’s Annual Celebrations. Last Friday evening Kezia and I went to the Redwood Meadows Fairground before the Grand Entrance. Kezia was invited to join her friend dancing afterwards which hit the night out of the park for her. The photography was great along the way with the beautiful regalia in the late sunlight.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Kezia’s dance competition season begins
This year is my daughter’s first as a member of her dance studio’s competition team. She has been working hard on her three routines and last weekend was the Springbank Dancer’s public performance ahead of the spring competition schedule.
Kezia’s is competing in three categories – hip hop solo, small hip hop group and large group musical theatre. All of the routines are great for her and allow her personality to shine throughout.
She loves performing and this weekend was no exception. She danced wonderfully and had a great time – on and off stage.
It was the first time I got to see each of her dances on stage and in full dress. The choreography done by the studio’s teachers is great and she has put in the effort to learn them cold. It was really fun to watch it all come together and see Kezia doing what she absolutely loves to do. And I absolutely love watching her do everything she wants to do.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
The Tsuu T’ina Pow Wow on Saturday
I went next door to the Tsuu T’ina Pow Wow and All-Indian Rodeo with Bobbi, Kezia and a few of our friends.
After watching both, Kezia preferred the Pow Wow over the rodeo. Bobbi and I were lucky as we were invited to join her so we all had a great time listening to the drums and singing as well as watch the wonderful dancing.
Tomorrow is the last day of this great annual event. I will be focusing on the rodeo over the dancing this year so it was great to have a few hours to watch the competitions that follow the grand entrance.
–
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Tsuu T’ina Pow Wow Dancer
A dancer in full regalia spins during the Grand Entrance on July 29th at the Tsuu T’ina Pow Wow.
I was under the weather this year and only went over to the Pow Wow one day this year for a few hours. I still have to work through the images from the Grand Entrance but I can say it was another great event put on by the Tsuu T’ina Nation. This year seemed quite a bit bigger than last year and I again enjoyed the excitement, fun and enthusiasm on display among the dancers, the organizers and the crowd. It is a fantastic weekend and I’m disappointed I wasn’t able to spend more time across the road with my neighbours.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Stage silhouettes
I was at my daughter’s dance recital this morning. She had a lot of fun during her performance and we had even more watching her. We were able to enjoy a number of enjoyable performances. The image above, taken just before the stage lights came on, reminded me why I like photographing so many events with a 70-200mm zoom lens. I saw the dancers getting into position and dialled in the exposure to create silhouettes. The image below was the first shot where I wanted to catch the moment before the dance started. Above, with the overall scene photographed, I tried to work into it and find a more compelling composition. Within the frame as David duChemin and others have discussed eloquently on occasion.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Tsuu T’ina Pow Wow 2011
This past weekend was the Tsuu T’ina Pow Wow and Rodeo held in Redwood Meadows, just east of Bragg Creek. This event has an incredible atmosphere with band members from First Nations across Canada and the United States attending.
The Pow Wow starts with the Grand Entrance where all of the dancers enter and then move around the center of the Beaver Dome. As the drum circles from different nations take turns pounding and singing out songs, the dancers stream in and join the throng of people dancing, walking and jumping as they circle around the central pillar.
I live on the Tsuu T’ina Nation’s land and feel very lucky to be a neighbour of the people and to be able to so easily enjoy their culture. The performers dance for healing and the spirituality that envelops the dancers and the crowd is palpable and inescapable. Just as I said last year at the end of the 2010 Pow Wow, I am already eager for next year’s.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Earth Day – First Nation Dancing
Our community, Redwood Meadows, is built on land leased from the Tsuu T’ina Nation. We have great opportunities to work with them and to invite them to share their culture with us. Our new mayor, John Welsh, is carrying forward with this relationship and I believe he is making great strides to strengthening the connection between the Redwood community and the people of the Tsuu T’ina. Yesterday, as the culmination of the Earth Day celebrations at the community center, several Tsuu T’ina dancers and drummers performed. I have enjoyed their performances before during their Pow Wow and Rodeo that is an annual event every July but it was great to watch them in this smaller environment. Here then, are a few images from the dances. A very warm thank you to the dancers and musicians – it was a wonderful celebration!
If you are on Facebook and want to keep up with my work, please check out my photography page
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Tsuu T’ina Nation’s Pow Wow
Right across Highway 22 from my house is the location of the annual Tsuu T’ina nation’s Rodeo and Pow Wow. What an incredible event to have in the Bragg Creek area.
Yesterday, I spent the day on the grounds photographing the Pow Wow Grand Entrance and then the evening’s rodeo events. The people working, competing, dancing and enjoying these events were great to talk to and extended great warmth and friendliness to me. I feel very honoured to have been able to enjoy these festivities with our local Tsuu T’ina band members and the people from other nations all across North America.
I will have more photo essays up but wanted to get a quick post up with images from the Grand Entrance. This ceremony sees all of the first nation people who are dancing in the Pow Wow enter into the Beaver Lodge. This is an large pyramid open all sides with a two tiered roof sloping upwards resembling a beaver lodge in a general sense. Moving in a steady procession, the center of the lodge is soon completely packed as men and women, boys and girls of all ages circle around the main column in the middle. Easily a couple of hundred dancers pulsed inside at the height of the ceremony.
They were carried onwards, dancing with little break for up to half an hour, by the drumming circles from different nations attending. The drums and accompanying singing was incredible, powerful and charged the atmosphere. It was a mesmerizing scene to be in, around and a part of.
Here are a few more images from my first look through the images I made (click on the photographs to see larger images).
As a footnote, Tsuu T’ina means beaver in their language although I do not yet know how they came to be called by the name. Much to learn about my neighbours across the road, I better find time to do so as I’m very interested.
Christopher Martin Photography 