Nakotah LaRance
Nakotah Lomasohu Raymond LaRance (August 23, 1989 - July 12, 2020) was a Native American hoop dancer and actor[1][2][3] He was a citizen of the Hopi Tribe of Arizona.[4]
Nakotah Lomasohu Raymond LaRance | |
---|---|
Born | Utqiagvik, Alaska, U.S. | August 23, 1989
Died | July 12, 2020 30) Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, U.S. | (aged
Occupation | Dancer |
Background
LaRance was born on August 23, 1989, in Barrow, Alaska (now Utqiagvik). His parents are Marian Denipah (Navajo/Tewa) and Steve LaRance (Hopi/Assiniboine). Nakotah, hereceived a Hopi name “Lomasohu”<name name=not/> by his paternal grandmother. Lomasohu means "handsome star" in the Hopi language. His parents were both jewelers and artists. He grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona,[1] and spent summer in Moencopi, Arizona, then moved to New Mexico.
Dancing career
At four years old, LaRance began dancing as a fancy dancer[5] and competed in the youth division of the World Championship Hoop Dance Contest in Phoenix, Arizona.[6] He performed on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2004.[1]
LaRance won three championships in the youth division and three in the teenage division of the World Championship Hoop Dance competition.[1]
In 2009, LaRance joined the Cirque du Soleil troupe as a principal dancer. He worked as a traveling performer with the troupe for over three years. In 2015, he danced at the opening of the Pan American Games in Toronto with Cirque du Soleil.[1][7]
He won the title of World Champion at the Hoop Dance Contest three times, as part of the adult division in 2015, 2016 and 2018.[1]
LaRance taught hoop dancing to students at the Lightning Boy Foundation in New Mexico.[8]
Death
LaRance died at age 30 on July 12, 2020, after a fall from climbing a bridge in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.[1]
References
- Carmel, Julia (19 July 2020). "Nakotah LaRance, Acclaimed Native American Hoop Dancer, Dies at 30". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- "Florida Hoop Dancer Wins Title of World Champion at 29th-Annual Hoop Dance Contest". Red Lake Nation News. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- "Painting". National Museum of the American Indian. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- Will Wilson. "Nakotah LaRance, Citizen of the Hopi Nation, 6-Time World Champion Hoop Dancer, Member, Dancing Earth, Indigenous Contemporary Dance Creations". Art Bridges. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- "Nakotah LaRance: Native American Hoop Dancing". Library of Congress. 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- "Dancing through hoops". The Baltimore Sun. 4 December 1994. p. 2A. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- Estus, Joaqlin (13 July 2020). "Nakotah LaRance: 'Fearless' performer, caring coach". Indian Country Today. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- Walker, Dalton (7 February 2021). "Celebrated hoop dance contest in Arizona will go virtual". Connecticut Post. Retrieved 8 February 2021.