Barrow Dancers share stories about friendship, hunting and basketball through their performance

Greeted by loud cheering and applause, Barrow Dancers offered a finale to the first Quyana Alaska night during the Alaska Federation of Natives conference.

The crowd’s favorite, 6-year-old Edward Long, performed solo and got an encore to a loud ovation. Former Superior Court Judge Michael Jeffery received a warm welcome from the audience. Dancers of the older generation and youth paired together for several performances.

“Our showstoppers are our Elders and our littlest,” dancer Mary Patkotak said.

[From 2023: A 5-year-old star with Barrow Dancers gets his first solo encore at AFN’s Quyana Alaska]

The Barrow Dancers have performed for two U.S. presidents, Arnold Schwarzenegger and during many Quyana Alaska nights.

“It means a lot,” the leader of the dance group Fred Elavgak said. “Celebrities that come our way ... come to our land ... and we give him that experience showing our traditions.”

Last week, Barrow Dancers received multiple invitations to perform as well: from the Native Village of Barrow, Covenant House and Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corp., Patkotak said.

“We have been performing all day, dance after dance,” said Ora Elavgak, Fred Elavgak’s wife.

The group’s program this year included a dance to a basketball song, with movements representing dribble, shots and passes. Elavgak said that he, his sister and several others took part in creating the song. The group also performed a song that a Canadian dance group shared with them in the early 2000s, with moves resembling processing the whale.

One of the dances included embrace after embrace: a friendship dance.

“You dance with your best friend to symbolize a friendship to one another,” Fred Elavgak said.