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Calvin's sisters - Mildred Child,
Florence Vessey & Gloria Roze
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Click
on images to view
The Copper Maker Dancers are a Kwakiutl dance group of talented
professional Kwakwakwa'wakw (those who speak Kwakwala') people.
We use only our traditional Kwakiutl songs and dances, given
to us and taught to us by our respected Chiefs and Elders.
We strive for professionalism, reliability and excellence
in our performances.
Calvin and Marie have organized Native dance trips for the
Copper Maker Dance Group since 1983. Check out our Streaming
Web video to view some of our dance masks that our family
own. Calvin Hunt, with his family, has participated in professional
dance groups for almost 30 years. They have performed throughout
Canada, the U.S., Europe, as well as Australia and Japan.
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Kwakwakwa'wakw Dances are considered valuable inherited privileges,
depicting incidents from hereditary legends. In some cases,
the dance dramatizes the adventure stories of the ancestor,
while in others the dance recreates a dance given to the ancestor
by a mythical being or by a dream being with whom the ancestor
came in contact. In either case, the dance and the accompanying
songs, masks or regalia are regarded as valuable family privileges
to be passed on in the family from generation to generation.
Dancing is not only a right and a privilege, but it is our
responsibility to carry on. Our Elders have taught us "It
is a strict law that bids us to dance."
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Our daughter and nieces
wearing Hudson Bay Blankets
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Contact us today and we will provide you with all the necessary
information to book that special entertainment you are looking
for. We will share with you our Native dance and song
of traditional Kwakwaka'wakw culture. Just imagine having
your guests listen to the powerful singing and drumming that
brings out Calvin Hunt, dancing in his spectacular Thunderbird
Dance costume; or witness one of our youth dancing the Dzunukwa,
a sleepy giantess of the woods.
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Thunderbird Dance costume,
danced by Calvin Hunt.
The Thunderbird Dance is one of Calvin's dances that was
passed to him from his mother, Emma Hunt. This particular
costume has a transformation mask.
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Dzunukwa - Wild Women of the Woods, danced by Corrine Wilson
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Selected Dance Performances:
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2001 Victoria, BC – Mercedez Benz 40th
Anniversary Gull Wings Convention
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2001, 2002, 2003 - District of Port Hardy - Cadillac
360 Yacht Race
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2001 Numata Hokkaido, Japan - Pole Raising, Hunt Hall
Learning Centre
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1999 Mashantucket, CT - Pequot Museum and Research
Centre, Pequot Band
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1999 Royal Museum of Art and History, Brussels, Belgium
- Dance group of 15 dancers
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1999 UBC 50th Golden Gala Event, University of British
Columbia, Museum of Anthropology Thunderbird Dance Costume.
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1998 Whistler, BC, Lustige Musikanten for ZDF (German
Television),
1 1/2 hour musical special with Marianne and Michael.
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1996 Munich, Germany - Beck's Department Store
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1988 Ottawa, Ontario - Museum of Civilization "Spirit
Sings" Exhibit.
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Negotiating and co-coordinating dance performances is done
on an individual basis. The number of dancers and singers
of each dance group, performance length, single or multiple
dance performances, and travel costs are considered in fees
charged.
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