Thunderbird American Indian Dancers

Thunderbird American Indian Dancers will perform at 7 pm, Saturday, July 9th on the Untermyer Performing Arts Council’s stage at Untermyer Park.

From the beginning, keenly aware of the great diversity of tribal groups living in and around the metropolitan area — each with a very distinct cultural background — its members were determined to learn and preserve the songs and dances of their own tribes, then to branch out and include other tribes. Their teachers were their mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Since its formation, Louis Mofsie and the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers have visited and performed in almost all fifty states, and have learned from a wide variety of Indian peoples.

In addition to dancing and singing, the Thunderbird Indian Dancers’ activities include the Native American Craft Workshop, Indian Studies programs for Indian youth, Cherokee language classes, and the Thunderbird American Indian Dancer’s Scholarship Fund for Indian students. The company also presents an annual season at the Theatre for New City in Manhattan, and has produced an album of songs.

Wide in appeal, Thunderbird American Indian Dancers have made an enormous contribution to the effort of preserving and perpetuating American Indian culture. For over twenty-five years, Thunderbird Dancers have enchanted a diverse array of audiences through performance with the varied traditions of the American Indian peoples. Specializing in the songs and dances of the tribes of the Northwest Coast, Woodlands, Plains  and the Southwest, their repertoire includes traditional  as well as a variety of other distinct regional tribal dances. Wonderfully presented with descriptive narration, Thunderbird Dancers’ programs are among the most compelling anywhere.