Kevin Locke Native Dance Ensemble performing at Berea College Nov. 8

The performance will include visionary hoop dancing, dazzling fancy dancing, spirited vocals, drums, ancient flute songs, and authentic stories of the First Nations, led by world-renowned Lakota dancer and musician Kevin Locke.

Locke (his Lakota name, Tokaheya Inajin, means “The First to Arise”) is known throughout the world as a visionary Hoop Dancer, preeminent player of the indigenous Northern Plains flute, traditional storyteller, cultural ambassador, recording artist and educator.  A pivotal force in the revival of the indigenous flute tradition which was near extinction only 20 years ago, Locke was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship in 1990 by the National Endowment for the Arts, which acknowledged him as a “Master Traditional Artist who has contributed to the shaping of our artistic traditions and to saving the cultural diversity of the United States.”  Locke has toured individually for more than two decades, performing and lecturing in more than 70 countries world-wide.  He has recorded 14 albums of music and stories.

Locke and his ensemble, which includes dancers Doug Foote and Thirza Defoe and singer and dancer Edmond Tate Nevaquaya, have been performing together for the past six years.  Together, they represent native American Plains nations of the Lakota, Anishinabe, and Comanche, the Southeastern tribe Choctaw, and the Woodlands Nations of Ojibwe and Oneida.

Recent performances by the Ensemble include the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and the World Culture Open at Lincoln Center (sponsored in part by the United Nations), in Washington, D.C., and the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City.