Dancing Bear

Kinngait (Cape Dorset)
Serpentine, Ivory
15” x 13” x 6”

Born at Qillapait in 1917, Pauta Saila moved to Kinngait in the early 1960s and is widely credited as the first Inuit artist to sculpt the now-iconic dancing bear. Though often associated with drum dancing and shamanic transformation, Saila’s inspiration came from childhood memories of polar bears at play, appearing to "dance" with one another. His sculptures, with their rounded forms and confident energy, surprisingly align with the aesthetics of Qamani’tuaq while maintaining the bold dynamism that Kinngait has become renowned for.

Pauta Saila’s masterful handling of form and balance is on full display in this Dancing Bear. Despite the dramatic lean of the bear’s body—tilted so far to the side that its torso is nearly parallel to the ground—Saila achieves a sense of effortless equilibrium. The entire composition rests on a single planted foot, yet the sculpture feels stable and grounded, as though defying gravity is part of the bear’s natural rhythm. This feat of balance speaks not only to Saila’s technical precision, but also to his deep understanding of stone as a living material—how weight can be shifted, how volume can be distributed, and how motion can be frozen mid-gesture without losing its fluidity. The result is a dynamic figure that feels both monumental and alive, a testament to the artist’s ability to merge physical daring with artistic grace.