10/11/2023 0 Comments Art of dazzle dance team“‘94 was the first time I think I got to go on the plane with the dance group,” Oviok said. He said he’s been coming to Quyana dances as a part of the Tikigaq Dancers since he was a kid. Oviok is from the Inupiaq village of Point Hope, about 150 miles northwest of Kotzebue. On the floor below Thursday evening, Tariek Oviok laced up his mukluk boots in preparation for his group to take the stage. Tariek Oviok takes the stage with the Tikigaq Dancers. As dancers waved fans to the fierce pounding of drums, the crowd gathered to the front row to watch, sometimes joining in on one of the invitational dances. The group is made up of dancers from across the state - many of them Heritage Center interns, performing for a packed crowd for the first time. The Alaska Native Heritage Dancers took the stage at Anchorage’s Dena’ina Center first. They packed a third floor auditorium later that night. ![]() People stood in line for hours Thursday morning to get tickets, which sold out quickly. ![]() What made this year extra special: It was the first time the dancers have performed since 2019, after back-to-back cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Quyana is the Yup’ik word for “thank you,” but it takes on a whole new meaning during the Alaska Federation of Natives convention.ĭuring the convention’s Quyana Alaska performances, hundreds of people gather to watch Native dance groups from across the state perform the songs of their communities. ![]() The Alaska Native Heritage Dancers perform for the first Quyana Night in three years at the 2022 AFN conference, at the Dena’ina Center, in Anchorage, Alaska on October 20, 2022.
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