Proud
Plumage
Grand
Opening
National Museum of the American Indian
Washington, DC, USA
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
By
George Jackson
copyright
© 2004 by George Jackson
published September 27, 2004
With much fanfare and after years of planning, the American Indian museum
has opened on the Mall. As a neighbor in DC's southwest quadrant, I've
seen the building gradually grow. Only in the last couple of days has
it seemed finished. In daylight it looks squash yellow, sandstone rough
and scalloped. Spotlit on the outside and with its inner illumination
fully ablaze tonight, it appeared palefaced, smoother surfaced and, from
the Capitol side, like a spaceship in port. Its inaugural festivities
spilled out into the surrounding streets and parkland. Tents had been
set up as marketplaces for tribal goods, and there was an open stage flanked
by huge screens. Great crowds had been expected. They materialized, and
initially the museum remained open around the clock. At 9 PM on day 1,
the line to get in was over a thousand people long. l walked around the
building, peered into the ground floor which is very windowed on the Mall
side, strolled through the market tents (more the fairground sort than
the teepee type) and watched a bit of what was happening on the screens
and stage. On this cursory round, people's clothing caught my eye first.
So many, both participants in scheduled events and observers, had dressed
to the hilt in American Indian finery. Then there were the faces, the
body types and walking styles. It was a wonderful living tapestry.
Dance was a dominant part of the opening days' programs, and it came from
the entire Western hemisphere as well as the Pacific. I only caught short
bits on the big screens. There was supposed to be an event with the USA's
Indian ballerinas—Rosella Hightower, Maria and Marjorie Tallchief,
Yvonne Chouteau and Moscelyne Larkin—plus that fine balletic partner
Jock Soto, but I wasn't able to find out where and when. So, I fantasized
with my memories of them. Rosella Hightower returning home from France
to Ballet Theatre to dance Balanchine's "Theme and Variations"
in the plastique style she had acquired abroad. Maria Tallchief, dazzling
as Balanchine's Firebird. Marjorie Tallchief, chic and frisky in Skibine's
"Idylle."Yvonne Chouteau, the expectant mother, still daring
to do a Black Swan pas de deux in the last days of the American Ballet
Russe de Monte Carlo. Moscelyn Larkin, sensual in Ballet Russe character
roles. Jock Soto, who—at New York City Ballet—danced also
with his eyes. The memories then became a jumbled pas de six—which
told me it was high time to give up and go home! I didn't keep my resolve
to set the alarm for 3 AM and try then to get in.
Originally
published:
www.danceviewtimes.com
Volume 2, No. 36
September 20, 2004
Copyright
©2004 by George Jackson
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Mindy
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Dale Brauner
Mary Cargill
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Jane Simpson
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