The Shining Mountains Film Festival takes place at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen this weekend with a focus on the stories and culture of Indigenous people. The documentaries cover everything from sports to art to reclaiming sacred land; some are just a few minutes long, while others are feature-length films.

One of the short films focuses on Larry Yazzie, from the Meskwaki Nation in Iowa. He’s an artist, actor and champion fancy dancer who performs elaborate cultural dances in traditional dress for audiences around the world.

“The flamboyant fancy dance, it captures them — it captures them in awe, because it requires stamina, it requires speed, it requires creativity,” Yazzie said in an interview with Aspen Public Radio.

The film, called “Yazzie,” screens at the film festival on Saturday night, followed by a discussion and dance performance. Then, on Sunday, Yazzie’s company “Native Pride Productions” will present a standalone performance, also at the Wheeler Opera House.

Aspen Public Radio’s Kaya Williams spoke with Yazzie about the film and his connection to Native American dance. You can hear the story using the “Listen” button above and read a transcript of their conversation below; this interview has been edited and condensed.

Kaya Williams: Why don’t you tell me a bit about how this short documentary (“Yazzie”) about your work and your fancy dancing came to be?

Larry Yazzie: Oh, about a year ago, I had a performance, and this student from Flagler (College) in St. Augustine, Florida, she was asked by her local school newspaper to do a story on it. And after the show, she approached me. And she said she was just moved by the show, by the performance, and by the way I presented the show.

Later on, she did just a little mini documentary. And it moved me. It moved me how she created, how she captured the essence of the dance and my spirit, and really how I just have this love for this dance that I still do today.

Because the dance that I do is usually done by young teenagers, young men, and I’m in my mid-50s. So I’m really proud of this film that she created for me.

Williams: And did you yourself start dancing when you were a teenager? How did you get into this art?

Yazzie: I started dancing when I was about seven years old. And I’ve never looked back. Dancing is a way to escape, it allows me to express myself, my feelings, especially a good song that I hear, through a live drum, or I’ll pick my favorite track. And I have this one song that I always go to. And it just really brings the best out in me in my dance and my moves and my spirit.

Williams: What is the importance or the significance to you of being able to carry on these traditions and share them now with new audiences, the next generation?

Yazzie: Well, it allows me to share, and also those who want to learn to dance, or those who want to be proud of themselves being Native, being Native American, it gives them an outlet to show the world that you know, ‘We are still here, we’re alive, we’re still strong, our language is still intact.’ Our ceremonies are still happening in our home fires, in our communities, across the country and into Canada and North America.

And dance is just an outlet for me to show that and to share that. And I always say, you know, I don’t own the dance. I don’t own the songs, but I can simply share what I feel and teach you what I know through the steps.

Williams: There’s a performance going on Sunday following the film festival of Native Pride Productions. Tell me a little bit about that whole organization, how it came to be.

Yazzie: I started this company about 20 years ago. And I felt there was a need to go into schools and to public institutions, to share and to educate, and not only to share and educate, but also to break down barriers and break down those stereotypes that have been put upon us by Hollywood films in the early 1900s and 50s and 60s — how they portrayed Native Americans and not even using real Native Americans.

And it was something for me that I wanted to share with the world, that we can use dance as a platform to educate.