Youth centre has kids dancing all the way to Florida

Bright lights are shining in Kuujjuaq – and to see them, just head over to the community’s Uvikkait Dome centre for youth aged six and up.

The lights are right there in the eyes of a group of star-struck young dancers who will be heading off to Orlando, Fla.’s Sea World this July.

“They will have the opportunity to perform in front of thousands of spectators at the Arctic Pavilion,” says Jennifer Matchett, director of Kuujjuaq’s youth centre. “It’s very exciting.”

For months, Matchett worked with 14 dancers from the youth centre, teaching them a complex dance routine, which she calls “a traditional spin on a jazz dance.”

It was challenging for the dancers to master all the moves – and practices required hours of rehearsal after school and on weekends.

But the resulting dance number is a fast-moving, jazzy combination of modern dance and throat-singing, set to a song by singer Beatrice Deer from Quaqtaq.

Matchett sent a video of the perfected routine to Seaworld, and an invitation for the group to perform there this summer soon followed.

“It’s going to be a great experience,” says Matchett. “And, in the future, they’re going to be much more self-confident in what they can do and do do.”

The dance squad has been fund-raising in order to make the trip to Orlando from July 7 to July 9, by selling T-shirts and organizing other events.

“We would like to give a huge thank-you to Kuujjuaq Pinguatitslijingit (Kuujjuaq Recreation Committee) for their continued support, because without them the girls and boy would not have raised enough money to take this opportunity,” Matchett says.

Another group from the Youth Centre is also raising money, so about 30 Girl Guides and Pathfinders can all attend a week-long Girl Guide camp in the Laurentians next August.

“We have this idea that no one should be left out,” Matchett says. “And that’s what we base everything at the youth centre on.”

You might think that, with 15 hours of jazz, ballet and tap dance lessons offered every week at the youth centre, girls wouldn’t have time to get involved in other activities, but the troops for Brownies, Girl Guides and Pathfinders have proven to be a huge success in Kuujjuaq: school-aged children now come through the community’s child care system keen to participate in organized group activities.

“The Girl Guides started with six participants – now there are 29!” says Matchett.

An afternoon get-together of Girl Guides and Pathfinders, for girls 9-14, fills the centre’s basement crafts room to capacity. Each patrol – the Ptarmigans, Caribou, Beluga and Muskox – has its own table and everyone is wearing the blue or green uniforms that identify them as either Girl Guides or the older Pathfinders. Many sport the coveted badges earned through successfully accomplishing various activities or craft projects.

The youth centre also has many activities for boys, including Boy Scouts and karate and boxing classes.

And the centre is not just for younger kids, although Matchett says it’s been tough to attract many older teens because they don’t want to be seen hanging out with younger kids.

But she’s always looking for new ways to get more teens involved.

Take the Mr. and Miss Teen Kuujjuaq contest. The lead-up to this annual pageant involves skill competitions, public speaking and a talent show, all designed to show teenagers their potential “to do anything you want to do and be anything you want to be.”

The winners of this year’s Miss and Mr. Teen Kuujjuaq Pageant, held in February, were: Mae Johannes as Miss Teen Kuujjuaq, Taqralik Kauki as First Princess, Darlene David as Second Princess, Susan Nulukie as Miss Friendship and Louisa Suppa as Miss Talent.

Devon Pearson was crowned Mr. Teen Kuujjuaq. His First Prince was Sailasie Kooktook and the Second Prince and Mr. Friendship was Mark Snowball.

Olivia Ikey, 15, who was selected as Miss Teen Kuujjuaq 2003, says the pageant experience was a lot of fun.

A booklet that was distributed at that year’s pageant gives an eye-opening glimpse of the hopes and aspirations of young Kuujjuamiut.

“Olivia’s favourite colours are black and gray. She likes the summer, driving around and swimming. In the future, Olivia would like to be a lawyer, but she would miss her mother, as she is the most important person in her life. Olivia says that if she had a million dollars she would move to the Bahamas with her family.”

Other pageant participants said if they had a million dollars, they would give money to refugees, “buy a house, truck, new clothes and go to Montreal and Quebec City” and “move to Hawaii, have two butlers, buy two cars” and a business designing clothes.

Also for teenagers at the centre there’s a chance to experience what’s it’s like to be a teen parent. They’re given an egg to take care of for a week, so they can live first-hand the problems involved in becoming a parent.

A Homework Club and Movie Night round out the centre’s regular full week of activities.

Thanks to organizational and financial support from Kuujjuaq and Quebec, the tireless Matchett isn’t alone at the centre: there are also two coordinators, Hullik Siquoraluk and Alacie Snowball, as well as other part-time youth assistants.

As the popularity of the centre continues to grow, Matchett says what the centre really needs is more funding, a larger facility for teenagers to have their own space and a greater number of volunteers from the community to help with activities.