This style was known by such names as the Chicken Dance in the plains. It was kept alive by people like Henry Ironchild among the Cree, Joe Sam and Kenny Scabby Robe among the Blackfoot and Chippewa and families like the Bakers in Utah. This dance was almost stationary, but a new champion, Jonathan Windy Boy, borrowing from dances like Fancy, made it more freestyle and moving. Many imitated the Windy Boy style in the 1980s, while others created their own. The modern powwow dancer is also a choreographer.
Training starts early.
Young dancers learn first by watching and then by instruction, perhaps from an older brother or sister, as an older generation passes on the meaning of a dance's history. The powwow dancer is expected to awaken their own imaginations and experiment with step combinations, creating new variations, finding a personal style and then relating each of those elements to the music. But that dancer is not left in a void to dance. There is the music to guide him. It is said the drum s the beat of Mother Earth and we dance in synch with the Earth's rhythms.