
If Cities Could Dance

Albuquerque's Native American Hip-Hop Dance
Described as “Indigenous futurism,” Albuquerque’s hip-hop and freestyle dance scene is driven by Indigenous dancers from many tribes, Pueblos and communities. A strong sense of solidarity holds it together, say dancers Anne Pesata (Jicarilla Apache) & Raven Bright (Diné). Randy L. Barton, a dancer, DJ & artist (Navajo) created The Sacred Cypher, an event where Indigenous art forms & hip-hop link.
TRANSCRIPT
(upbeat Native American flute music)
(Speaking in Navajo) Greetings, my family and my people.
Welcome to Albuquerque, an occupied Tewa lands.
My name's Raven.
My name is Anne.
We're gonna show you around a few of
our favorite spots to dance.
(upbeat flute music)
[Raven] Our dance, it's a mixture between
indigenous cultures and hip-hop culture.
People don't know that those two things are
so closely intermingled together.
(upbeat flute and drum music)
(upbeat hip hop music)
(tribal drum beat)
[Anne] Albuquerque is a collecting point for rural people
all over New Mexico.
(tribal drum beat)
People from different tribes, different pueblos,
different cultural backgrounds.
And part of what's special is the hip-hop community.
(electronic music)
We are at Breakin' Hearts 2020.
(electronic music)
[Raven] My dance crew is Foundations of Freedom,
founded in the early 2000's by Randy L. Barton,
Cloud Face, and I think a couple other OGs.
[Randy] Foundations of Freedom started around 2001,
and it's a collective of many crews from New Mexico
and Arizona, from border towns.
Hip-hop is built from oppression.
You deal with racism, like, really, really bad, you know.
All you're really seeing is the energy from oppression
exploding.
I'd rather explode than implode,
'cause if you implode, that's suicide.
(upbeat Native American flute music)
[Anne] I am Jicarilla Apache.
I was traditionally raised on a reservation.
My culture is intrinsically connected to dance.
You're encouraged to get up there and move.
I started powwow dancing as a young girl.
I have a strong connection to my land,
a strong connection to my people,
and a strong connection to my culture.
(electronic music)
We connected at a jam, and the excitement that I felt,
the spark of creativity, hit something so deep within me.
[Raven] We are able to talk without using words.
We keep pushing each other to go farther, or
[Anne] lifting each other up.
[Raven] We lift each other up.
(upbeat tribal drums)
[Anne] As a dancer, I listen.
That's a big part of being indigenous is being open
to the story of the world around you.
(upbeat tribal drums)
[Raven] I come from Gallup, New Mexico.
I'm half Diné,
I'm claimed by DibéBzhíní Black Sheep clan,
and I'm also German as well.
That comes from my mother's side.
Being a part of hip-hop culture helped me
connect those worlds together
and reconnect with my indigenous roots.
(pulsating electronic music)
[Anne] They hold space for you to be the most that
you can be within a dance space, so I allow myself to go
to these crazy almost spiritual places when I dance.
(rhythmic chimes)
Randy is something of an icon in Southwest hip-hop culture
because he's honoring the ancient, the ancestors,
while embodying the future.
[Raven] Like Sacred Cypher,
one of the events that he's created.
(singing)
[Randy] Sacred Cypher, it had all the original elements
of hip-hop.
Growing up, you know, all our ceremonies
involved a drum, chanting.
The DJing is the drumming.
The MCing is the chanting.
The graffiti art is the petroglyphs, and the dancing,
you know, never trust a spiritual leader who cannot dance.
[Raven] We're all energetically connected,
and that's where our idea of community comes from.
(rhythmic chanting)
(tribal drumming)
[Randy] That's what I love about hip-hop.
Everything is alive.
You take it to the floor, these things that hold you down
don't hold you down anymore.
You know, it's like, and that's why you see
the angry spirit fighting back,
'cause it's fighting to get free.
(rhythmic drum music)
[Raven] Hey, guys, thanks for watching the video.
[Anne] There's more If Cities Could Dance videos.
Click to the left to check 'em out.
(upbeat drumming)
More Episodes (24)
-
LGBTQ+ Choreographer Amit Patel is Changing Bollywood DanceDecember 03, 2020
-
J-Setting: From Southern HBCUs to the Clubs of AtlantaSeptember 08, 2020
-
Zydeco in Houston: Black Cowboys, Trail Rides & Creole RootsJuly 14, 2020
-
Puerto Rico's Bomba, A Dance of The African DiasporaJuly 09, 2020
-
Albuquerque's Native American Hip-Hop DanceJune 23, 2020
-
Dancers Across the U.S. Unite in Chain LetterMay 21, 2020
Related Reading
- DanceHouston’s hot-stepping zydeco dance fuses Creole and Black cowboy culturesJanuary 11, 2021
- FilmWhat to stream: Indigenous artists creating works across genresOctober 14, 2020
- DanceDancing an Indigenous future: Native American hip-hop and freestyle in AlbuquerqueSeptember 23, 2020