Powerful performance celebrates the culture of the Lakota people.

The Maui Arts & Cultural Center is proud to present Lakota Sioux Dance Theatre, a world-renowned Native American company that will perform in the Castle Theater this Saturday, Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m. as part of The MACC’s 2008-09 Global Rhythms Series. This outstanding group will perform Cokata Upo!, Come to the Center, a work which celebrates the culture of the Lakota people in traditional pow-wow dance, sacred songs, legends and creation stories, all narrated against a backdrop of spectacular video imagery.

Produced by Solaris and with Director Henry Smith, Cokata Upo! is performed in three parts, beginning with “Birth of a Nation,” followed by “Death and Rebirth” and concluding with “All Nations as One,” a dance of peace and unity. Narratives and creation stories introduce each segment of the performance. Cokata Upo! includes the grass, jingle dress, fancy, traditional, horse, buffalo, eagle, round and inter-tribal dances, juxtaposed with dance interpretations of the Lakota warrior tradition.

The performers of Cokata Upo! look to the wakan (sacred) nature of the animal nations, redefine and assert their rich cultural identity, and ultimately seek harmonious balance with the environment and all nations of the world. The performance is imbued with a sense of unity, conveying the message that people, Earth and spirit world are one: metakuye oyasin (all my relatives). This performance is sure to be dazzling, spectacular and powerful!

The Lakota Sioux Dance Theatre was founded at the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota with the support of traditional Lakota Indian educators, healers, community leaders, championship pow-wow dancers, singers and storytellers. The company creates opportunities for everyone to experience and interpret the holistic world view of the Lakota Sioux people through live performance, educational outreach and broadcast television programs.

Tickets for Lakota Sioux Dance Theatre are $12, $22, $32, half-price for kids 12 and under, and with a discount available to MACC annual donors. The Box Office is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; call 242-SHOW (242-7469) to charge by phone or purchase tickets online at www.mauiarts.org.