Dances with Ivory

Celebrate Native American heritage with this cultural music experience. DANCES WITH IVORY presents piano selections based on indigenous tribal melodies. The piano is used in unusual ways to achieve ethereal effects, such as strumming inside the body of the piano on the strings and using the pedals in creative ways to pick up the tonal vibrations of native flutes, singing, speaking, and playing the soundboard for drum beat effects. Dr. Lisa Cheryl Thomas was a Fulbright Scholar in Canada in 2017 at the University of Alberta and did her doctoral dissertation on native melodies that were collected by ethnographers around the turn of the 20th century.

The performance includes native storytelling to illustrate the significance of an oral tradition, a very different way of learning compared to modern schooling. Dr. Thomas performs in native regalia and uses multi-media to illustrate the cultural background of each song. She has performed this music in many theaters and concert halls in many countries. Her repertoire also includes bluegrass and patriotic American music by American composers.

This year’s show includes several new numbers, including a new EPIC story of the great flood, told in many different cultures.  The Native American story is called WAKINYAN TANKA and is about the Thunderbirds and their battle against the evil Water Monsters that swell the rivers and cause a flood, and their mission to save the people on earth. The performance includes piano, recorded dramatic narrations, video media of Thunderbirds, floods and water monsters.

We hope you’ll join us for this uniquely beautiful and moving show.