Rehearsals are about to begin for another performance of “Wahzhazhe: An Osage Ballet.” The upcoming performances are scheduled for Aug. 5-6 at The Mansion Theater in Branson, Mo.
The “Wahzhazhe” ballet conveys the history of the Osage people from pre-contact to present day. Osage heritage and traditions are displayed using traditional drums, costumes, and dance. Through set design, the stage transforms into accurate depictions of Osage life over the last four hundred years.
Choreographed by Jenna Rae LaViolette, Osage co-founder of Dance Maker Academy, the ballet made its debut in 2012 at Holland Hall in Tulsa and at the Bartlesville Community Center. At the time of its debut, Osage elder Kathryn Red Corn said the ballet was a natural progression of a traditional Osage art form. She said Osage ancestors danced before a hunt, before a raid, and to express joy or grief. They danced to prayer songs and to the beat of a drum.
The art form of ballet is popular among the Osage people as it is a tie to Osage sisters Maria and Marjorie Tallchief. Due to their worldwide fame and success in the 20th century, the art form has been a revered expression for many Osage families and LaViolette keeps that tradition going at her academy.
Students from the academy also have parts to play in “Wahzhazhe,” accompanying the professional dancers on stage. The academy opened in 2014 with LaViolette instructing and her mother Randy Tinker-Smith directing. The academy holds regular ballet recitals throughout the year to showcase its young ballet students.
Dance Maker Academy is a non-profit organization, made possible by donations from the Osage Nation, the Osage Nation Foundation and private donors.
Since the ballet’s debut, “Wahzhazhe” has been performed at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. in 2013, and for the 2015 Papal Visit at the Festival of Families in Philadelphia, among other performances. This year’s performance in Branson will mark the first performances since the COVID-19 pandemic.
For tickets and information, call (417) 385-1118 or visit themansiontheater.com.
