Cherokee Dance: Ceremonial Dances and Costumes [Paperback]

Donald Sizemore (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Cherokee Publications; 1 edition (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0935741216
• ISBN-13: 978-0935741216
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #652,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Review of Cherokee Dance book, January 7, 2007

By 

Carol J. Morris "Medicine Bear" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cherokee Dance: Ceremonial Dances and Costumes (Paperback)

I thought some of the illustrations were less than professional looking. I have not read all of it yet, but the information is pretty good so far.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A KEEPER, January 11, 2006

By 

Kenneth Johnson "FL_SHAMAN" (Milton, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cherokee Dance: Ceremonial Dances and Costumes (Paperback)

Some would say that this book is where the author left off in his prior book on How To Make Cherokee Clothing. However, the book is much more.

In the book, the author goes farther than he has in the past. He gives better illustrations and goes more into detail about Cherokee culture.

I still say that the author fails in delineating what time period of Cherokee Culture that he is talking about when he is showing an item for example. I also still say that his patterns are lacking.

With that said, his models have improved considerably. The illustrations are more professional than in his prior book. Indeed, this is just an all around better book.

There are a few things that do not jive with the prior book that he has written. For instance, in the prior book he talked about how the chief used deer toes around his ankles. In this book, there are no deer toe anklets and the moccassins of the chief now have turkey spurs. Another oddity is that in his prior book he talked about how the bear dance was lost forever from the Cherokee people...yet in this book he talks about what to wear and how to do the bear dance.

Any reader of this evaluation should note that this book WILL NOT teach you how to do Cherokee dances. There are no foot steps, no musical notations, etc. In fact, some pictures show people in a dazed and confused pose with captions noting that the models are "trying" to recreate the dances. Truly, the most that you can hope for is learning a chant or two. And, in some regards, you have to be skilled in crafting without a pattern (often relying on your own knowledge of Cherokee crafts) if you can even begin to hope for a specific project to turn out like something from the book.

Indeed, the author's skills are evolving. But, there is still much room for improvement. Yet, I am confident that the author has what it takes to be the first in American history to to a comprehensive anthology of Cherokee culture with the history, delineated period dress, stories, healing methods, dance steps, written music, chants, writings, culture, etc.

At present, the author is a blib on the radar of Cherokee culture. I feel that he can be so much more.

This is not to say that I give 5 stars to this book because it is a great book or that the author is a great writer. In reality, the book is poorly written, poorly organized, and seriously lacking in many respects. However, what it excels in is that it is an excellent piece in preserving certain aspects of a rapidly dying Cherokee culture. Often, what you find in this book you will not find elsewhere. Too many authors are trying to lump us together with other tribes and even the Mayans and Aztecs. This author stays CHEROKEE and does all things Cherokee. For that, this book is deserving of 5 stars and a sincere "THANK YOU" for its contribution to Cherokee history and cultural preservation.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Book, April 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Cherokee Dance: Ceremonial Dances and Costumes (Paperback)

This book is great! It has descriptions of costumes of dances which will help me with my dance ceremonies. THIS BOOK IS GREAT!