Dancing Forward

The sounds of Alutiiq songs and drumming rang through the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center on the final Day of the Museum’s Cutman Agnguartukut (We are Dancing Forward) Workshop last July.  Participants worked in teams to put the final touches on new Alutiiq performances – songs and dances written and choreographed during 3-days of intensive training.   Each group readied their creations for a final performance in front of their peers and workshop Instructors Theresa John and Agatha John Shields.

The Dancing Forwards workshop united the expertise of trained Yup’ik dancers and the knowledge of Kodiak Alutiiq Elders to teach traditional dance methods, gestures, drumming, and song development, while creating new dances for performers around Kodiak to add to their repertoires.

“It’s quite an honor to be able to participate in such a workshop,” reflected participant Ada Coyle. “...The interaction with our teachers and our Elders...is just amazing...I am glad that they were able to be here to teach us.”

Elder and learner Susan Malutin kept future dancers in mind as she participated in the training,  hoping that the knowledge would be encouraging to those future generations.  “They are the rhythm to our continuing dance culture," she said.

The museum filmed the workshop and the new dances for a video designed to spread the training to other performers.   Each participant received a copy to share with members of their dance groups to help the learning continue.  The workshop videos are also available on the education page of the museum's website.

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