"Dance on the Wind", the Tillicum Village stage show, was created especially for Tillicum Village in a cooperative effort between Tillicum Village and Greg Thompson, Seattle's premier producer of stage shows for venues all around the world. The show incorporates the dance prerogatives that have been gifted to Tillicum Village into a continuous series of dances and legends masterfully tied together by Greg Thompson's stage magic. Dance on the Wind takes the viewer on a rare journey through the Northwest Coast Native culture in a manner never before available. A truly unique combination of traditional songs, dances and stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, and a spellbinding theatrical presentation; Dance on the Wind brings the past alive.

Prior to Dance on the Wind, the Tillicum Village show consisted of a series of dances, individually introduced and performed one after the other. While more traditional in nature, the show lacked the entertainment value required to hold the attention of guests not specifically interested in or familiar with the Native dance culture. At times the dancers were forced to compete for attention with the crowd. With the introduction of the newly formatted show that seamlessly ran from beginning to end, all that changed. Children watch in wide eyed wonder as the Terrible Beast vanishes as the hunters attack; the silence in the audience is broken only by an occasional gasp, exclamation, or a burst of spontaneous applause.

Tillicum Village is proud to be able to preserve dances such as the Dance of the Terrible Beast and the Lummi Blanket Dance, given to the Hewitt family to share with guests at Tillicum Village. Lummi elder, Joe Hillaire, would be pleased to know that his family prerogatives are being featured in such a pleasing way. His daughter Pauline, an educator, story teller and now a Lummi elder in her own right, returns often to visit Tillicum Village, check on the dances and occasionally have the Tillicum Village dancers work with Lummi youth teaching them her father's dances. It is enormously rewarding to see the traditions live on.

In historic context the dances are performed within a group of people who share a common understanding of the rights and honors being displayed, as well as an intimate knowledge of the lineage, social rank and history of the family claiming the right to display them. With both our guests and members of the Tillicum Village Dance Team coming from a wide variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, Dance on the Wind provides a very effective vehicle for sharing a broad spectrum of information on the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest.

The warm and enthusiastic reception to Dance on the Wind by an array of Native American Elders has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the show. The songs and dances of the Northwest Coast First Nations people were not traditionally performed as entertainment; the acknowledgment, by Native elders, of the respect and care that went into producing this unique show for our guests benefit is gratefully received. It is our hope at Tillicum Village that guests watching Dance on the Wind will leave Tillicum Village with an enhanced appreciation for the marvelous cultures that thrived along the rugged Pacific Northwest coastline for many thousands of years. It is also our great hope that they leave with the knowledge that those ancient cultures are alive and well and continuing to thrive and grow in new directions as they maintain their link to the past.