LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Nine-year-old Elohdie Fabre-Dimsdale was worried.

Reneltta Arluk, left, founder of Akpik Theatre, tells a story during the Open Sky Creative Society coffee house on March 7. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo

It was the first of three afternoon sessions to learn dance, singing and writing skills from the pros and she didn't think she'd be good enough. By the second day, her fears were gone.

"I found it was really fun and some of it was really easy," she said the afternoon of March 9.

She was one of 11 youth taking part in the What's Your Story sessions, which were put on by Akpik Theatre and Open Sky Creative Society for free earlier this week.

Reneltta Arluk, the theatre group's founder and artistic director, started the program to give Northern students a chance to learn from skilled performers who they might not otherwise be exposed to.

After founding the group, Renee Benson, a singer from the United States and Alex Twin, an actor and dancer from Alberta joined Arluk.

This is the second year for the program, which kicked off in Yellowknife before coming to Fort Simpson. Next the group will be heading to Fort Smith for the third and final stop of the tour.

The youth, most between 10 and 17-years-old, gathered in the Thomas Simpson School gym for five hours per session.

In the first session, Arluk invited students to tell the instructors what things are important to them and what they expected to learn, with the end goal being to prepare for a final performance to tell their stories. The final performance was expected to take place the evening of March 10.

Isaac Isaiah, 14, said he was loving "absolutely everything" about the experience after the first session.

The performers, who he said were fantastic, showed him that people can do a lot if they have the right mindset. He was happy to learn more about singing, an activity he hadn't done in quite some time, he said. Watching schoolmates learning new skills and stepping out of their comfort zone was fun, Isaiah said.

One activity on March 8 saw the group gather in a circle in the gym and give a short performance without speaking. The idea behind the exercise is to use actions in a small space to tell a story. It ended up featuring a marriage proposal, a board game player and a group of cadets marching.

Later, they were asked to write out whatever came to mind regarding their imaginary life.

Arluk said she was impressed by the "very strong imaginations" of the participants.

When several of them first showed up, they were shy and did not say very much.

But as the activities continued, their eyes lit up and they were much more involved she said.

"We guide them on their journey," she said.

"It's exciting having something like this here," Fabre-Dimsdale said about the program.

Fabre-Dimsdale said the powwow dancing by Twin on the second day of the program was a personal highlight.

"It was really awesome," she said with a big smile. "I really want to do more of that.