YouTube: Osage Ballet First Song

The Osage Ballet Company will perform for Pope Francis during his historic visit to the United States.

The company is performing the opening prayer scene from its production of Wahzhazhe on Saturday during the Festival of Families in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The group is raising funds for their trip to the city of Brotherly Love.

"We’re really honored that we got invited at all," Randy Tinker Smith, the director of the ballet company, told Indian Country Today.

The Osage Nation has a long connection with the Catholic Church, Tinker Smith said in a press release. The first documented visit by a priest to the tribe occurred in 1673 and tribal members later welcomed the arrival of the Jesuits, known as "black robes" in the Osage language.

Get the Story:
Enid girls to perform before Pope Francis (The Enid News 9/24)
After a Schedule Change - Pope Francis Will See Osage Ballet During Philly Visit (Indian Country Today 9/23)
Osage Dancers To Perform Original Ballet For Pope Francis (News on 6 9/22)

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