Page, AZ Native American dinner show

What the evening is

Red Heritage is a dinner theater in Page, Arizona. Its own site calls it Navajo owned and operated, a Native American dinner theater showcasing several styles of powwow dancing and featuring hoop dancers. You eat first and watch the stage programme afterwards, and the ticket you book on GetYourGuide gives a duration of two hours. That is the whole format: one room, one dinner, one show. It is not a tour, and nobody drives you anywhere, so the evening fits easily around a day spent at Lake Powell or Horseshoe Bend. The venue's own site also lists a lunch service on limited days; this guide is about the evening dinner and show that the ticket sells.

Who runs it

The organiser says the theater is Navajo owned and operated, and it describes its setting as surrounded by the sacred lands of Diné Bikéyah. Diné is the Navajo word for the people. The Navajo Nation is the largest Indian reservation in the United States, and Page itself was founded in 1957 on a site obtained in a land exchange with the Navajo Nation. Navajo is the most reported ancestry among Page's residents in the 2020 census, at 40.8 percent. This guide is independent: it is written by a Page local, it does not run the show, and the venue has no say in what is published here.

What the ticket includes

The GetYourGuide ticket lists entry to the theater show, dinner with Navajo tacos on freshly made fry bread, dessert and a soft drink. Alcoholic drinks are not included, and the ticket notes that a bar on site sells them. The ticket gives the duration as two hours and says wheelchair access is available. Doors open ahead of dinner, and your confirmation shows the arrival time for your date, so use that and not a time you read elsewhere. The ticket lists no transport, so you travel to the theater yourself. The fare is per person and shows live in your own currency in the booking calendar, so this guide quotes no price.

The dinner

The venue's menu asks you to choose an entrée: a Navajo taco on frybread, which it marks as the house favourite, a salad on a crisp bed of lettuce, or a rice bowl of steamed white rice. You then choose a protein, and the menu closes with a vanilla pudding parfait for dessert. The ticket describes the same three made-to-order options, and guests often mention the fry bread tacos. One guest quoted on the organiser's site says the staff offered rice or salad in place of fry bread. Frybread has its own history, which the guide to Navajo tacos and fry bread covers.

Read next: Navajo tacos and fry bread, explained

What happens on stage

The organiser lists four parts to the programme: dancing, live music, storytelling and dinner. The dancing is several styles of powwow dancing. The music begins with a Native American flute and moves to an energetic live drum. The flute is held in front of the player, has open finger holes and two chambers, and needs no embouchure. The storytelling is oral, stories passed down through generations, and the organiser calls the dancing fun for the whole family. Guests describe a narrator who explains the history while dancers come in at intervals. The running order can change from night to night, so treat this as the shape of the evening and not as a timetable.

Hoop dancers and powwow dancers

Two forms carry the programme. Hoop dance builds formations of hoops around the dancer's body, and powwow dancing is a family of styles danced in regalia, the word for the clothing, which is never called a costume. The organiser calls its hoop dancers world class, and guests single them out in their reviews. Wikipedia notes that the most popular Native hoop dance competition is held each year at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. You do not need any background to follow the evening, but the guides on hoop dance and on powwow styles explain what you are watching.

Read next: Native American hoop dance explained

Which night to book

The show has a single ticket, so what you choose is the date. The theater is seasonal, its own pages give the season and the days it opens, and the booking calendar lists the evenings on sale. The ticket is rated 4.8 from 288 reviews. The ticket carries a likely-to-sell-out flag, and the room is a single dinner theater in a small town, so choose your evening soon after you fix your Lake Powell dates. Large groups and tour operators can ask the venue for arrangements. You can reserve now and pay later, and a booking can be cancelled up to 24 hours before for a full refund.

Arriving and parking

Red Heritage is at 644 N Navajo Dr, Building E, in Page. The ticket's meeting point notes plenty of parking on the north side of the parking lot and shows a map pin. Doors open before dinner is served, and the meal comes first, so arrive for the start of service. Your confirmation gives the time. Page sits on the Colorado Plateau at an elevation of 4,300 feet, with hot, very dry summers and chilly winters, so dress for the season when you walk from the car.

Photos and questions

Guests are welcome to take photos and videos, but flash photography is not permitted during the show. The ticket adds that there is time at the end for guests to take photos with the dancers and to ask questions. Powwow etiquette includes rules for photography, and regalia is the right word for what dancers wear. Wikipedia also advises avoiding touching individuals or their regalia without permission. If you want a picture with a dancer, wait for the closing slot and ask.

Who this isn't for

The ticket says the show is not suitable for people with epilepsy. It is also not a recital or a formal concert: guests say the pacing could improve, with more dance time, and the evening leans on narration and explanation. A reviewer found the weaving part interesting but a bit long. If you want an all-dancing programme, or alcohol included in the price, this is not that evening. Visitors looking for a canyon, a boat or a viewpoint need a different booking, because this ticket covers the dinner and the show and nothing else.

Fitting it into a trip to Page

Page works as a base for Glen Canyon and Lake Powell, which the town reaches as its gateway, and a dinner show fills the evening after a day outdoors. The Glen Canyon National Recreation Area covers more than 1.25 million acres, and Horseshoe Bend is a panoramic view of a 270-degree bend in the Colorado River. Horseshoe Bend's overlook trail is 1.5 miles round-trip, so a morning there and an evening at the theater is a workable split. Spend the day on the water or at the overlook, then eat and watch at Red Heritage. The guide to evenings in Page lays out the rest of the night.

Read next: Things to do in Page, AZ at night