Native American Dances at The Roycroft
Tuesday, May 13th
What do Boy Scouts in Texas have in common with the Roycroft? One might guess the answer would be Elbert Hubbard because he traveled so much. That is almost right. Elbert’s son, Ralph, was a fan of Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show. He was so enamored of the wild west, cowboys and Indians, that he went west and in the 1920's purchased a ranch in Colorado. He learned the lore and wrangling skills from cowboys and Native Americans and shared all he knew of camping, archery, horsemanship, native crafts and native dancing by hosting Scout Troops at the ranch in the summers.
One of the camp counselors was Dr. Charles E. Colgate of St. Louis Missouri. Dr. Colgate was so fascinated with the native dancing that he created and guided a troop of dancing Scouts in St. Louis and in Amarillo, Texas. In Texas, Colgate and Scoutmaster Irelan put together a performance of their Troop 9 for the Scout skills annual show and that was the unintended beginning of the Kwahadi Dancers. Word of mouth brought many requests for their performances to the point that since 1944 over 1600 boys have been in the Kwahadi show performing throughout the U.S. and overseas wearing costumes they make themselves.
The RCC is proud to announce that the Kwahadi dancers are coming to visit and perform at the Roycroft Campus July 28th, 2008. The dancers are as excited to see the Roycroft as we are to host them. Stay tuned to the RCC website Events notices as details get finalized. You can also read more about the Kwahadi dancers at www.kwahadi.com.
- Sue
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