A circus with a land acknowledgment: Bindlestiff shows respect for native cultures in VPAC performance

Even the most seasoned circus goers have probably not seen many big-top performances that begin with a land acknowledgment.

But that’s exactly how the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus began its act at the Vilar Performing Arts Center on Feb. 28, the final performance in the troupe’s Nebraska-Wyoming-Colorado tour.

Before the show began, Bindlestiff founder Keith Nelson took a minute to let the audience know — in a type of land acknowledgment that has become commonplace these days — that the area in which they were enjoying the night’s activities was once home to the Ute Tribe.

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But unlike the typical land acknowledgment, the reverence for native cultures did not end with the simple words spoken at the beginning of the event. A highlight of the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus’ act included a traditional Native American hoop dance from ShanDien Sonwai LaRance.

“She tells stories and gives you ideas that are thousands of years old,” Nelson said of LaRance’s performance.

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Hoop dancing is a tradition in many Native American cultures, in which the hoops — which look much the same as a common hula hoop — are used to represent the circle of life and become props in a larger performance that tells individual stories.

LaRance’s own story is a powerful one. Her brother, Nakotah LaRance, was a renowned hoop dancer who helped bring the art form to mainstream audiences. He performed on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” in 2004 and was a teenage hoop dancing champion in 2015, 2016 and 2018 at the World Championship of Hoop Dance at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. He performed with the Cirque du Soleil and performed in the Brooklyn Ballet’s “Brooklyn Nutcracker,” incorporating hip-hop style into his routine.

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He died tragically in 2020 after falling from a bridge in which he was attempting to climb in Rio Arriba, New Mexico, at the age of 30. ShanDien now follows in his footsteps, performing with Cirque Du Soleil and other traveling acts, including the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus.

During her performance at the Vilar Performing Arts Center, LaRance’s influence from her brother was apparent in the hip-hop style she brought to the stage. She performed to former Tribe Called Red member DJ Shub’s “Indomitable,” a song that combines traditional drum and chant with beat drops and other hip-hop elements.

“Shub’s rumbling, slamming production and the powerful vocals and drums of the Northern Cree Singers build in intensity,” writes Phil Witmer in a review of “Indomitable” for Vice.com.

LaRance, at the Vilar Performing Arts Center, put on an absolutely flawless performance to “Indomitable,” commanding the stage for a captivated audience, using her hoops as wings to simulate flight in the climactic moments of the performance.

“She tells her stories without saying a word,” Nelson said.

Learn more about the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus by visiting bindlestiff.org.