Nakotah Larance in Geronimo video

Hoop Dancer Nakotah Larance Jazzes Up ‘Geronimo’ by The Knocks and Fred FalkeThe video for a new dance track, “Geronimo,” features an impressive display by champion hoop dancer Nakotah Larance.

New York-based electronic duo The Knocks teamed with German-born producer Fred Falke (he is based in Paris) to create “Geronimo,” the title of which, Knocks member B-Rock told Rolling Stone, was inspired by a portrait of the Apache leader in their New York recording studio. “When Fred was trying to think of a name for the record [before we did the vocals],” B-Rock says, “he looked up and saw the picture and said, ‘Who’s that?’ We told him it’s Geronimo and he said ‘Perfect!’… That inspired the concept and lyrics later.”

Nakotah Larance was recruited by the video’s director, Daniel Pappas. “He had worked with [Larance] before for some project he was doing, and the second he heard the song, he had the concept,” B-Roc says. “When he told us the idea, we knew it was too good to pass up. He went through a lot to lock down the dancer and the location and everything, but it definitely paid off. We think it’s cool that the video makes a reference to rave culture. You see hundreds of these ‘hoopers’ of all ages at these dance festivals, so it’s a cool thing to touch on.”

According to Hooping.org, Larance is a six-time world champion hoop dancer. The video for “Geronimo” is the second we know of in recent months to feature hoop dancing; in May, singer Nelly Furtado released a video for her single “Big Hoops” in which brothers Tony and Kevin Duncan both displayed their hoop dancing skills, and Tony’s wife Violet showed off some shawl dancing as well.Comment:  I don't know what the song has to do with Geronimo, since I can't understand it. The high-energy tone doesn't match my impression of Geronimo, whom I think of as stealthy and quietly lethal.

The initial scenes of Larance getting up and getting ready for the day don't do anything for me either. But once he starts dancing, his moves fit the song well.

For more on the subject, see Hoop Dancers in Furtado Video.