MM: What are the tensions that exist between traditional and contemporary Indigenous dance? Where does Kaha:wi Dance Theatre fit? Onkwehon: we recycle family names following maternal blood lines to honour the continuous cycle of life and women who are inextricably linked to the womb of creation. At the time of her death the name Kaha:wi was passed on through ceremony to my daughter, Semiah Kaha:wi Smith. It was the name of my grandmother, Rita Vyse, and in a naming context means “she carries”. Kaha:wi is a traditional family name from my maternal ancestral line that had been passed on over generations in the Kenien’kehá:ka, o’tarahson’a (Turtle Clan). Kaha:wi is an Onkwehon:we, Kenien’kehá:ka (Mohawk Nation) word meaning “to carry”. The following year with the support of the founding Board of Directors, I was able to shift from an independent artist to become the full-time Artistic Director of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre. I dedicated six years of research and creation to produce my first major production Kaha:wi-a family creation story-in 2004. I worked as an independent choreographer from 1996-2004. Throughout this time I had the opportunity to work with many Indigenous dancers and choreographers at places like the Banff Centre’s Aboriginal Dance Project. After my formal dance training at Canada’s National Ballet School, abandoning classical ballet, completing university degrees and theatre training, I began my professional choreographic career in 1996 when I was commissioned to create two dances inspired by the Onkwehon:we cultural stories of Sky Woman and the Three Sisters. Back in the studio, embodying stories that reflected and represented my identity, reignited my passion. SS: For the most part, dance has always been a part of my life-a child lost in a dream world of movement-and maintaining connection to the Onkwehon:we ceremonial cycle in which song and dance are fundamental. MM: What inspired you to establish Kaha:wi Dance Theatre and what is the significance of the word Kaha:wi in your language? MUSKRAT had the opportunity to speak with Mohawk choreographer and Artistic Director, Santee Tekaronhiáhkhwa Smith about Kaha:wi Dance Theatre and her vision on Indigenous arts education: Music and dance are celebrations of Life, the body is a vessel for the spirit and the artist is a culture bearer. Issue 10: The Art of Indigenous Parenting.
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