Twoshields Production Co. will bring a performance dyad that features Native American music and dance to town Friday when Park City Performing Arts brings the group to the Eccles Center for the Performing Arts.“I’m a flute player, and I will play a few traditional flute songs and briefly describ e some of the stories of those songs in hopes that the audience can maybe go on their own journeys through the songs and flute music as well,” said Nino Reyos, who runs Twoshields Production Co. “That will be the more calming part of the evening.”The second half of the performance will focus on dance and include the Traditional Dance, the Fancy Dance, Grass Dance and the Hoop Dance, Reyos said.“All of the dancing is pretty exciting, but the Hoop Dance is probably the highlight of the dancing,” he said. “Usually they’ll get a standing ovation and most praise at the end.”The full performance will feature traditional costumes that highlight the action on stage, Reyos said.“The colors and the designs of the regalia are all different, even if the dancing may be in the same categories like men or women dances,” he said. “The idea is to be able to make the presentation large enough so the audience can see differences in the regalia items and also bring in a drum group, which we will do in Park City.”The Park City audience will get a chance to hear and see traditional drummers during the performance, which will be supported by Creative West, a nonprofit that advocates for creativity in the western United States.“Sometimes the stages are too small to do that, so people will sometimes see us dancing to CD music,” Reyos said. “But that won’t be the case in Park City.”Although Reyos and his artists enjoy performing, other goals of Twoshields Production Co. is to educate and expose the public to Native-American culture.“Some places just want entertainment and music and dance, but we also let people know that we’re not just entertainers,” he said. “We could be, because sometimes the audience leaves a performance excited about the songs and dance, but some of our dancers take brief pauses between the dancing to explain a little bit about the meaning of the dancing. That way the audience can go home with a little more understanding about what we do.”In doing this, Reyos has taken Twoshields Production Co. around the world.“We have been to different places throughout the United States like Georgia and New Mexico and places here in Utah, where we perform at different yearly festivals and conferences,” he said. “We also have performed in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.”Reyos, a member of the Northern Ute Nation and enrolled with the Laguna Pueblo Indian Nation in New Mexico, enjoys presenting his culture to different communities.“I like doing that especially if these places have low Native-American or minority populations,” he said. “My feeling is that when these places invite us, the organizers believe that this type of presentation is important to their programs. And it’s nice to know they have open minds and interest in expanding their community’s knowledge about this type of culture.”One of the challenges Reyos faces in keeping up with the demands is working with his group’s individual schedules.“We’re not full-time artists, necessarily, so, we’re mainly available during weekends, and it’s difficult to travel to different places throughout the week,” he said. Reyos was born among the Ute people on his mother’s side and spent a majority of his adolescent years near Fort Duchesne.“I went to a Native-American boarding school and then joined the military,” he said.After receiving an Honorable Discharge from the United States Marine Corp., Reyos moved to Salt Lake City and began working to showcase his culture through performing.“When I was in high school, prior to the military, I was not as focused and stable as I am now, and I had my own journey of deviant activities,” he said with a laugh. “So I wasn’t so much focused academically and culturally as a teenager, but during the military I began to slowly change my mindset and got more involved with cultural stuff when I got out.”Twoshields Production Co. founder Nino Reyos is a Native American flutist and a member of the Northern Ute Nation and enrolled with the Laguna Pueblo Indian Nation. Reyos looks forward to bringing an evening of Native American music and dance to Park City on Friday to the Eccles Center for the Performing Arts. Credit: Photo courtesy of Twoshields Production Co.Still, Reyos didn’t start playing flute until he was in his 30s.“And it wasn’t until my late 30s when I became confident enough to perform programs in different communities,” he said. “I’m also a late bloomer with the dance as well.”However, Reyos began making a name for himself and his culture, and throughout his performance career played with Grammy Award-winning Native American musicians Bill Miller, and R. Carlos Nakai, Native American actor Jim Bilagody, and Douglas Spotted Eagle, known for his Grammy Award-winning music and performing.His music can be heard in the Telly Award-winning PBS documentaries “We shall Remain: A Native History of America and Utah” and “Secrets of the Lost Canyon.”Reyos was also one of five flute players selected to be part of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies and performed at the 2007 Deaflympics Opening Ceremonies in Salt Lake City.“Hopefully we can encourage the Park City community to come out, and if they are new to our culture they will have an open mind so they can take home a little bit of our culture and know why it’s so important for us and others to maintain it,” he said. “If anything, we hope people will enjoy the night and experience a family-oriented event.” Park City Institute Presents Twoshields Production Co.: Native American Dancers and FlutistWhen: 7 p.m., Friday, April 4 Where: Eccles Center for the Performing Arts, 1750 Kearns Blvd. Cost: $10-$35 Phone: 435-655-3114 Web: parkcityinstitute.org and twoshields.comThe post Native American music and culture dances into Park City appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less