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PANNIQTUUQ/PANGNIRTUNG - More than two dozen aspiring hip-hop dancers from seven communities gathered in Pangnirtung with instructors from southern Canada to use their love of dance to better their lives and their communities.

"I used to do drugs a lot," said Leslie Qanguk of Pond Inlet. "I always went drinking and I used to smoke. I then found out when I did hip hop that I could have fun sober." Qanguk quit marijuana and alcohol in 2006. She quit cigarettes last year when she discovered how much it was affecting her endurance on the dance floor.

From left, Trevor Kooneeliusee, Lekon Thomas and Karen Nashalik collaborated for some uniquely Inuit hip-hop music. Kooneeliusee beat-boxed, Thomas rapped and Nashalik throat-sang, all free-style and unrehearsed. - Gabriel Zarate/NNSL photo

Qanguk was in Clyde River when youth first started practising hip-hop dancing after a workshop in 2006. When her family moved to Pond Inlet, she stayed off drugs in the hopes that a hip-hop program would eventually start up there. She got her wish in November 2008.

The week-long program in Pangnirtung brought in youth and some equally enthusiastic chaperones from Clyde River, Pond Inlet, Iqaluit, Cape Dorset, Grise Fiord and Kugluktuk. Activities alternated between dance lessons, role-playing and trust-building exercises and brainstorming workshops such as asking the youth, "What are the qualities of a leader?"

There were also workshops to discuss how to establish and sustain a hip-hop club and how such a club could contribute to its community.

Elders came to visit and share their knowledge including traditional stories, which the young incorporated into their dances.

Blueprint for Life has been combining social work and dance in Nunavut since 2006. Under the leadership of veteran dancer Stephen Leafloor, better known as "Buddha," the program links a popular youth pastime with self-confidence, clean living and community contribution.

Clyde River's Benny Sanguya is a hip-hop veteran with two years' experience. For him the benefits of the Blueprint for Life program are wide-ranging. He said he gets more exercise than he used to and he has become more confident with public speaking thanks to the various role-playing exercises of the program. And there's also the sheer love of the dance.

"Sometimes when there's no practice I want to practise somewhere else. I can't get enough of it," he said with a smile. Sanguya said the impact of hip hop on Clyde River has been remarkable. He estimated there was half the amount of youth crime as before and instead of fighting at school, youth were settling their arguments with a dance battle.

Al Jago, commander of the RCMP detachment in Clyde River, agreed the hip-hop program is keeping kids from causing trouble.

"I reap the benefits here, being a policeman in town with the reduction of youth crime," he said.

On the last day of the workshop youth were asked to come up with a short, simple dance routine and then teach it to kids age nine to 11 from Alookie School, Pangnirtung's elementary school. Then the kids and their youthful mentors performed their dances for the rest of the Alookie student body and interested parents.

Leafloor said the exercise was meant to show youth there were people even younger than them to whom they are role models.

"They are the heroes to their seven-year-old brothers," said Leafloor.

On the last night they held a "dance battle," a three-on-three competition where two teams at a time tried to prove their superior skill, energy and sense of humour by out-doing each other on the dance floor.

Some of the dance moves incorporated Inuit culture such as one- and two-foot high-kicks or mimicking the paddling of a kayak.

The eventual winners were the No-Name Crew out of Clyde River, consisting of Derek Hainnu, Benny Sanguya and John George Paniloo.

During and after the show, toddlers were imitating basic dance steps while adults gasped at the dazzling spins and handstands of the performers. There was much laughter as one crew pantomimed removing the head of an opposing dancer, passing it between them and then sinking it into the gym's basketball net.

Eric Joamie translated the show into Inuktitut. His daughter and niece had participated in previous workshops by Blueprint for Life.

"It's a great opportunity for them to show themselves and become part of the community," Joamie said.

"I find it really nice," said hamlet councillor Jack Maniapik. "People are getting together, especially young people. I see smiling faces. It makes me feel good. I hope this is an annual thing."