By Bryan Eneas

On the Powwow Trail: The Spotlight Special

Oct 9, 2016 | 3:41 PM

Two dancers spin, jump, flip and fly through the air fifteen feet apart in the middle of the Art Hauser Centre illuminated by spotlights. The sound of the drum thunders through the arena and the crowd watches in anticipation as these two preform acrobatic manoeuvres, seemingly with ease.

The drum stops almost unexpectedly, the dancers freeze and the crowd erupts in cheers for the pair. Judges gather from all over the arena to discuss what they just witnessed and to listen to the crowd’s decision.

It’s all part of a unique competition at the Northern Lights Casino’s Thanksgiving powwow called the spotlight special. Fancy feather dancers from across North America compete for cash in a tournament style dance-off.

Once the final eight dancers are selected by judges, the lights of the Art Hauser Centre turn off and four dancers at a time square off under spotlight, until only four remain. The final four dance-off in pairs, leaving the top two dancers to contend for the first place prize of $2,500.

For winner Patrick Mitsuing, the cash was not the most important part of his win. He said he dedicated his dances to his father who had recently passed.

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“I’m going out there kinda sad and then kinda proud at the same time,” Mitsuing said. “My mom was watching me here, and she had a dream that my dad said he was watching me dance, and that he was proud of me. So I went out there feeling a little heavy but happy at the same time.”

This is not Mitsuing’s first time dancing for the Spotlight Special championship.

He said winning an event like the special is a mix of strategic planning and finding a balance between getting the crowd excited and not expending too much energy.

“When you’re out there, it’s like a mix of emotions. You kind of get hyped from the crowd and then you kinda get nervous at the same time because they’re watching every move that you do,” Mitsuing said. “Everything that you’ve accumulated over the years of knowledge, of dancing. Your experience comes into play all at once in a short period of time in this arena.”

Mitsuing spent 18 years accumulating his dancing knowledge. He said the first time he watched fancy feather dancing time slowed down and he knew he had to do it.

“When I was trying to learn how to become a fancy dancer I would just watch and study, watch and study, and I would emulate (who I was watching),” Mitsuing said.

By emulating the dancers, he wasn’t copying but rather putting his own style into what he was learning. He said for the younger dancers who are learning fancy feather, this is the best way to become a better dancer.

“Not just fancy dancing; I watch a lot of break dancing, a lot of gymnastics, a lot of hip hop. I take from all these genres and I’ll bring it into this dance, and I think that’s the way powwow is kind of evolving,” he said. “With social media now, we can see a lot of different styles of dancing. It can kind of have an effect on us when we’re out there.”

Mitsuing said despite the nerves brought on by the crowd, they’re a great source of motivation.

“What really keeps you going is when the crowd starts cheering, they give you that energy. When that song’s really good, and you know the song, you get the stops, it just pumps you up man, and you can get through the next round.”

Mitsuing said he plans on dancing until December, when he will spend Christmas with his family. He is training for a new World Championship in November, hosted in Las Vegas, and will then his trail off in Oklahoma in December.

“I love powwow so much. I love it with a passion… I really wanna thank my family and my lady for supporting me, and all the fans that get me to the top,” he said.