Events: Arizona - Phoenix - Scottsdale

The 27th annual Heard Museum World Championship Hoop Dance Contest is a delight for visitors and families of all ages looking to join in a weekend of cultural celebration and competition. The event showcases a unique sport, so guests should prepare for stunning performances of the men and women who are vying to call themselves a World Champion Hoop Dancer. Top American Indian and Canadian First Nation hoop dancers are preparing to enter to try to win the prestigious title and cash prizes at the two-day competition.

Dancers are judged on a slate of five skills – precision, timing/rhythm, showmanship, creativeness and speed. In recent years, younger competitors are even incorporating modern dance steps such as hip-hop into their routines.  

The event combines artistry, sheer athleticism and cultural traditions to create an exciting, colorful and suspenseful competition. Over time, the intertribal hoop dance has expanded to incorporate new and creative designs and extremely intricate footwork. Each dancer presents a unique variation of the intertribal hoop dance, weaving in aspects of his or her distinct tradition and culture. Individual routines are presented using as few as four, to as many as 50 hoops, which are manipulated to create a variety of designs including animals, butterflies and globes.

$18 general admission, $13.50 seniors (65+), $12 Heard Museum Members and American Indians, $7.50 for children 4-12, FREE for children younger than 4. Cost is per day and includes the event and museum admission. Buy tickets in person or online at heard.org/event/hoop. Admission also entitles visitors with entrance to the Heard Museum.