Dance clothing composed of bright green, orange and yellow strings draped the back of dancer Wayne Silas at the Pow-wow of Love on Saturday.

With the increasing sound of a drum, Silas frantically moved his feet at Breslin Center, mimicking the style of a show horse for a type of dance called Men's Fancy.

"The dance originated in the '40s, and is the most contemporary dance," the Kansas resident said.

"It requires more athletic ability and agility."

Silas said the vivid colors and materials worn during the dance symbolize the modern times and attract an audience.

"As time modernized, more synthetic materials were available to use," he said. "You use whatever catches the eye of the spectators."

The powwow, sponsored by the North American Indian Student Organization, featured drum music from more than five groups, as well as colorful dances from a range of ages.

In traditional Native American heritage, the powwow represents ongoing friendship which offers more than entertainment, but also a chance to display artistic ability with a multitude of arts and crafts.

"The original meaning is for a social gathering of a group, and now it's all races and walks of life to celebrate our culture differences," said Don Lyons, co-coordinator for the powwow. "It's a competition powwow where people can sing and dance for money."

About 3,500 spectators and participants were attracted to the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education in 2002 for the event, but this time around it moved to Breslin.

The new location provides a bigger facility that's closer to the center of campus, the hospitality business sophomore said.

"We could barely fit dancers and spectators in there," he said of the pavilion.

And he added this year's event was more expensive, costing about $80,000, with the help of student organizations and some national corporate sponsors.

More than 100 small silver cones, covering the dress of dancer Karen Pheasant, jingled with her every move as she moved to the melodic beat of the drum.

"The dress is ceremonious and meant as a 'healing dress dance,'" the jingle dancer and Ontario resident said.

"The dress came from the Ojibway people of the Great Lakes area."

The dance is only performed by women who have had dreams about being a jingle dancer, and it represents prayer for sick loved ones.

"It comes from a dream almost 100 years ago for women to bring healing," Pheasant said. "In current days it's been adopted by many tribes."

Included in the many performances were drum songs, which represents the heartbeat of Native American people, by groups such as the Grammy-nominated Northern Cree, Midnight Express and Standing Bull.

Dressed in an intricately beaded vest with floral patterns and holding a pole with an eagle claw on top, men's traditional dancer Bill Martell prepared to perform.

"The men's traditional dance is a tradition that's passed down from ancestors," the Traverse City resident said. "When warriors went out to battle, they first had a dance and this represents that."

The powwow was a success because of the cumulative efforts of students and faculty, Lyons said.

"From my point of view how the students pulled together to make this happen is amazing," he said.

"We have a small Native population on campus, and an even smaller amount participating, so to do what we did was great."