Saturday, December 03, 2005
Sioux City, Iowa
WEB EDITION
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Brule's sights, sounds dazzle at Orpheum
By Bruce R. Miller, Journal staff writer
What does "Brule" mean? In a word, incredible.
Performing at the Orpheum Theatre Friday night, the Native American group from Lower Brule, S.D., dazzled with sights and sounds rarely experienced in such a setting.
Think: Indian Cirque du Soleil and you might get a bit of the picture. Created by Paul LaRoche, a former Worthington, Minn., resident who discovered late in life that he had Native American roots, the group (featuring his son Shane, daughter Nicole and friend Eagle) recreated indigenous sounds in a contemporary format. Their Christmas music was familiar -- songs like "Silent Night," "Oh Come All Ye Faithful," "We Three Kings" and "What Child Is This" were reinterpreted with a driving drum beat, a penetrating flute and a solid through-line. LaRoche, who calls himself Brule, played the keyboards; Nicole handled the flute, Eagle commanded the drums and Shane ran through the paces with a series of guitars. Alone, that'd be enough to amaze.
But LaRoche added a group of tribal dancers who illustrated the music beautifully.
A hoop dance -- done by Lowery Begay -- was every bit as amazing as a magic act. Begay managed to turn rings into everything from balls to wings to the moon. He's a talented dancer, ably abetted by Thirza DaFoe, who also knows a thing or two about hoops.
Add in a local group (Many Moccasins), some fine traditional dancers and a stunning turn by Rene Avila and the result was nothing short of spectacular.
Avila, an Aztec fire dancer, moved so quickly during one number you half expected him to reach for an oxygen tank. Yet mere minutes later he returned and moved skillfully around a flame, burning his skin but missing the feathers that comprised his rather spare costume.
LaRoche devoted the first half of the show to holiday music, beginning with a Native American take on the birth of Christ. Called "The Miracle of Life," it neatly introduced the dancers, letting them double for various wise men and visitors from the east.
Equally powerful: LaRoche's duet with Nicole on "O Holy Night." More traditional than the other numbers, the father and daughter performance recalled the work they did when Brule first started. Obviously a pared-back production, that first outing had strength. Now, it's truly forceful.
In the show's second half, Brule performed cuts from several albums, showed scenes from the Lower Brule Sioux Indian Reservation and gave the audience a sense of the journey LaRoche has been on.
While this was obviously a heightened look at what one might see at a powwow, it was respectful -- just the introduction non-Native Americans need to a beautiful culture.
Because it had so much to offer -- and celebrated the artistry around us -- Brule's holiday show should become a Siouxland tradition. It was just as good as the New York-based productions we see and, at times, twice as moving.