Info
This dance celebrates the harvest.
Folk Dance
Formation – Students stand in two lines facing the audience. Each person is holding a basket with both hands in front. All steps are light and bouncy with bounces in between steps.
Dance steps in member content below.
See also
- Country / Culture: US / Native American
- Activity: folk dance
- Recommended recording: “Hopi Basket Dance” by David Taliewiftema and Hopi Singers from Second Mesa
YouTube
- PDF of Dance steps
For the Navajo Basket Dance, did you play the music from the YouTube video? Do you have the lyrics?
Thanks for your question! I play the recording “Hopi Basket Dance” (under “Links”). We don’t sing along with it, so I don’t have lyrics. We just dance to the recording. 🙂
Just to add a little depth, this dance is the precursor to a sacred ceremony of giving gifts and thanks. This initial dance portion is “public”, but the ceremony portion is very private. The dance is only performed by women. I realize in a classroom we teach the dance to all, but if you have Native Americans in your class that could be considered insensitive. At the very least we should probably make sure the students are aware, so that they don’t leave with incomplete knowledge.
Thanks for sharing! This is great information!