Dallas Chief Eagle and Jasmine Pickner perform at the Library of Congress. (http://www.sdarts.org/folkarts/)

The Lakota hoop dance is a colorful spectacle. Vivid colors, amazing acrobatic movement and music that leaves an unforgettable impression. The hoop dance is steeped in Lakota culture, and there’s deep meaning in every hoop, every move. If you’ve never seen it performed, you’re missing out.

But here’s your chance. On Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Historic Homestake Opera House in Lead, Dallas Chief Eagle II will be doing a presentation on the Lakota hoop dance. His performance starts at 7 p.m.

Chief Eagle will talk about the respect, balance and sharing of power that is demonstrated in the hoop dance. His program, “Nurturing the Tree of Life,” tells the story of the hoop dance and the Lakota way of life.

Circles are an important Native American symbol, representing rebirth, renewal and the connections with nature, the four seasons and the four directions. This circle of life — “Cangleska Wakan” in Lakota — can be found in the Medicine Wheel in Wyoming and in all types of Native American visual arts. Even the Black Hills, with its surrounding “racetrack” foothills formation surrounding it, is a representation of the Sacred Circle.

A member of the Rosebud Lakota Nation, Chief Eagle is a world hoop dance champion, storyteller and touring artist. He has served as an artist-in-residence and mentor to other dancers through his Hoop Dance Society on the Pine Ridge Reservation. In 2007, he was invited by the American Folklife Center to perform at the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center in Washington.

The event is open to the public, $5 for members of the Adams Museum & House and Homestake Opera House, and $10 for non-members. You can reserve a seat at Black Hills Central Reservations, (800) 344-8826 or 578-7702.

The performance is co-sponsored by the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission, Adams Museum & House, Historic Homestake Opera House, Adams-Mastrovich Family Foundation, South Dakota Humanities Council, South Dakota Arts Council, Celebrity Hotel and the Black Hills Pioneer.