This 45 minute interactive performance introduces students to the powerful tradition of the Jingle Dress Dance, also known as the Medicine Dance, as rooted in Indigenous North American cultures.

Through storytelling, movement, and cultural exploration, students learn about the origins of the Jingle Dress Dance and its role as a healing dance within Indigenous communities. The assembly begins with a guided retelling of the story of how the Jingle Dress Dance began, inviting students to experience the history through embodied participation and reflection.

Students are then introduced to a variety of regional styles of the Jingle Dress Dance and explore the significance of traditional regalia, including the rows of metal cones that adorn the dress and create its distinctive healing sound, as well as dress designs and accessories that make each dancer’s regalia unique and meaningful.

Participants also learn about the nine state-recognized Native American tribes of North Carolina: the Coharie Tribe, Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation, Haliwa-Saponi Tribe, Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, Meherrin Tribe, Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, Sappony, Waccamaw Siouan Tribe, and the Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina. This portion of the program builds awareness of the Indigenous communities who continue to live, work, and thrive in the state today. Students are introduced to relevant vocabulary and geographic references that deepen their understanding of Indigenous history and contemporary presence.

The experience concludes with a guided movement sequence in which selected students are invited on stage to learn foundational Jingle Dress Dance steps in a respectful and supportive environment. Students remaining in the audience are encouraged to participate through rhythmic swaying and movement, creating a shared and inclusive cultural experience.

This performance experience supports arts education, cultural understanding, and student engagement through interactive learning and live performance.

Artist Background

Kayla Cyrus is an Afro-Indigenous artist, mother of four, and cultural practitioner living in Raleigh, North Carolina. She belongs to the Tuscarora and Waccamaw Siouan peoples, descending from the Cyrus, Graham, Blanks, and Jacobs families of what is now known as Bladen County.

Kayla is a jingle dress dancer, an artform that serves as both personal healing and collective resistance. Her work weaves together dance, storytelling, and movement, drawing from her background in ballet, modern dance, and Indigenous cultural practice. She is also a storyteller and actress with Whistle Stop Tours, an African American history tour, founded by Aya Shabu in Durham that preserves Black stories and community memory in the face of ongoing gentrification. She has also had the privilege of performing for The Magic of African Rhythm founded by Teli Shabu.

Outside of performance, Kayla finds joy in hiking the mountains of North Carolina, wild foraging, and baking traditional sourdough bread. Her work and life are rooted in reconnection to land, lineage, and liberation.

Search Criteria

• Program Type: Performance
• Discipline: Dance, Storytelling
• Grade Level: Elementary
• Cultural Context: Native American
• Accepts bookings in Johnston County