Eric Draper via AP Images for Scholastic, Inc.
Mateo’s sisters, Lauren (left) and Therese, are also hoop dancers.
Dancing takes practice, especially the kind that Mateo does. He’s a hoop dancer. Mateo spins as many as six hoops at a time with his hands and feet. Hoop dancing has been performed by Native peoples for centuries as a way to tell stories and pray.
Mateo is from the Pueblo of Pojoaque (po-WAH-kay). He’s won a few hoop dancing contests. But he thinks hoop dancing is about more than just winning competitions.
“It’s important to keep passing on this tradition,” Mateo explains. “If it’s not passed on, it’s forgotten, and you can lose part of your culture.”
Dancing takes practice, especially the kind that Mateo does. He’s a hoop dancer. Mateo spins hoops with his hands and feet. Hoop dancing has been performed by Native peoples for centuries. They do it as a way to tell stories and pray.
Mateo is from the Pueblo of Pojoaque (po-WAH-kay). He’s won a few hoop dancing contests. But he thinks hoop dancing is about more than just winning contests.
“It’s important to keep passing on this tradition,” Mateo says. “If it’s not passed on, it’s forgotten, and you can lose part of your culture.”