Wakalapi

Kenny Scabbyrobe (patriarch of the Blacklodge Singers) is reputed to be one of the best old-style grass dancers and is quite knowledgeable in telling about the history and evolution of several powwow dance styles. One of his early dancing students, Rocco Clark, Sr., has been dancing and teaching dancing also for many years. The youth drum group I work with has had the opportunity of accompanying his dance classes for part of the last year. Some of his former students have gone on to become champion dancers in their regions and have placed high at Schemitzun and other major contests over the years. His dance is very smooth, flowing and gliding and is based on dipping at the knees, which makes the roach feathers dance, rather than stomping around and bobbing the head.

Another good grass dancer in this area is Charlie Sitting Bull, who once told a young singer on our drum who is also a learning grass dancer, to hold the elbows out and look really big like a giant scarecrow. Charlie does not move around much during his dance, many of the "old style" dancers tend to stay fairly stationery or at least travel very slowly around the floor. Regarding his old Sioux style of grass dance, one of the songs says about it, "The grass dancers... look! they dance like they're all broken up." (Omaha waciwicasaki...ahintunwan po! kabadab'dica wacipelo.) I guess, think of a dancing skeleton being controlled by a marionette, with regard to the elbows out and forearms hanging down.

I have heard it explained that while some people say the grass dancers used to go out to "stomp down" the buffalo grass, they actually went out to gently lay the grass over with their feet as well. This puts some sideways and sweeping motions into the dance step.

Hope this helps. Sorry if I blabbed too much. It's late.

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