Six-time World Champion Hoop Dancer to perform at Buffalo Thunder

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 17, 2009

Six-time World Champion Hoop Dancer to perform at Buffalo Thunder

Santa Fe, NM - The Santa Fe Indian Market Gallery at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino celebrates Indian Market with a reception for its current exhibit, Modern Heritage, on Thursday, Aug. 20 from 5 - 8 p.m. Six-time world champion hoop dancer Nakotah LaRance will perform at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. This will be LaRance's last public performance before joining a renowned performance group for a two-year world tour.

The 19-year-old LaRance has had an impressive career. He appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Leno named him "The most interesting person in Arizona." LaRance received the highest score in the history of Pax Network's "America's Most Talented Kids" and in 2006 he won the First Americans in the Arts Best New Actor Award for his role as Voices That Carry in episode five of Into the West. Other movie credits include Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and Expiration Date.

The Santa Fe Indian Market Gallery is the first year-round venue for Indian Market artists. Each of the gallery's four yearly exhibits features a variety of the 1,200 juried market artists working in different media.

Modern Heritage highlights Native American artists who are keeping traditional art forms vibrant or expressing their heritage through nontraditional media. Traditional work includes parfleche from the Plains traditions of Debra Box (Southern Ute), Monte Claw's (Diné) dance fans and his wife Kareen's (San Carlos Apache) beadwork. There are sculptural glass pieces by Marcus Amerman (Choctaw), elegant stone sculpture by Rollie Grandbois (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) and figurative bronze sculpture by Estella Loretto (Jemez Pueblo) and Ryan Benally (Diné). Jewelry ranges from classic designs by Marian Denipah (Diné), Steve LaRance (Hopi) and Albert Lee (Diné) to the innovative work of Glenda Loretto (Jemez Pueblo). There are vibrant batik scenes from Tina Santiago (Coushatta), impressionistic paintings by Michelle Tsosie Sisneros (Santa Clara Pueblo) and the bold acrylics of Nacona Burgess (Comanche).

A free shuttle will run between Buffalo Thunder and the Poeh Museum's reception, also from5 - 8 p.m. The Poeh is featuring two artists, Upton Ethelbah (Santa Clara Pueblo/Mescalero Apache), known for his dynamic sculpture, and Robert Montoya (Ohkay Owingeh and Sandia Pueblos), whose paintings depict scenes from his puebloan culture. Refreshments will be available and there will be traditional dancing on site.

Roxanne Swentzell's Tower Gallery, at the Poeh Museum, will also be open that evening, and Swentzell will be on site. In addition to highlighting her new works, Swentzell's monumental piece, Community, commissioned for the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, will be on display.

http://www.buffalothunderresort.com/

Contact:
Jennifer Marshall
505-231-1776
jennifer@jmarshallplan.com
www.jmarshallplan.com