Iqaluit (Sep 04/06) - Far from home, a crew of Northern breakdancers are making waves down south.

For the last several weeks, the Nunavut Floor Masters (NFM) have been training in Hull, Quebec - across the river from the nation's capital - to get ready for a series of hip hop competitions and exhibitions.

"We practice a couple of times a week," said NFM leader Jonathan Cruz, 24, last week.

"We're just getting prepared."

The b-boy/b-girl crew, which specializes in highly athletic breakdancing, consists of Cruz, Mary Mitsima, Anthony Mercredi, Keith Oqallak and Stephanie Arnold from Iqaluit, as well as Cambridge Bay's Quentin Crockatt.

The crew took part in a "battle," or competition, in Montreal called Under Pressure Aug. 12. While the crew won their first round, they were eliminated in the second.

"I was very proud of them," Cruz said.

"In terms of their confidence, I was very surprised they just went out there and gave it their all."

"We rocked it," said Mitsima, 14, of the crew's performance.

She said she is still trying to work out some of her nerves, however.

"I just dance. I do hip hop. I don't think about people up there. I don't think about people watching."

Arnold, 14, said she had a blast, too.

Both said they were enjoying their time down south (their first trips outside of the North), though there have been some downsides.

"It's hot. Too hot," Mitsima said.

"They've been developing very well," Cruz said of the NFM. "They're just learning so much and they can't wait to go back to the North and teach other kids."

The NFM are an offshoot of the Canadian Floor Masters (CFM).

The group came together during a February CFM workshop in Iqaluit.

The CFM then assembled a small crew, to which they gave "baby brother" status, just as the legendary New York City Breakers gave the CFM in the early 80s.

Like the CFM, the NFM focuses on social work in equal parts with hip hop, which they demonstrated during a recent workshop in Clyde River.

"It's not just all about the dancing. We go in depth into all the elements of hip hop," Cruz said. "We talk about social issues as well. (The youth) can talk about what they deal with and we can share our stories.

"We're normal people like them, we struggle, we have problems and really we're here to help each other."

Next up for the crew was Cypher North, which took place Sept. 2. The event, organized by the CFM, celebrated the crew's 23rd anniversary.

Cruz (who now lives in Hull) said this journey was about more than hip hop for the kids; it was about discovery, and letting them see more of the outside world.

"It's just letting them know that they have choices in this world."