.
Search
 Email this articleE-mail this story  Discuss this articleWrite letter to editor  Discuss this articleOrder a classified ad  Print this page




Aqsarniit throat singers June Shappa and Sylvia Cloutier of Iqaluit performed at the Folk on the Rocks music festival in Yellowknife with Taima, a group led by Elisapee Isaac of Nunavik. They also gave lessons on throat singing.

Inuit performers rock folk festival

Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 25/05) - Inuit performers abounded in Yellowknife during the NWT capital's 25th annual Folk on the Rocks Festival last week.

Tanya Tagaq Gillis of Cambridge Bay enthraled her audiences with energetic contemporary twists on the throat singing tradition. She dressed in bright, spectacular costumes and never stayed still on stage.

Taloyoak throat singer Bessie Uquqtuq and drummer Aiolah Takolik enchanted crowds with their performance of traditional music. Meanwhile, Aqsarniit, a throat singing duo from Iqaluit, took some time to teach festival goers the art of throat singing.

One of the highlights of the festival was an international collaboration of throat singers called the Circumpolar Suite.

The Taloyoak performers combined their sounds with throat singers from Tuva, a Russian province near Mongolia; Taima, a Quebec group led by Nunavik's Elisapee Isaac; and a band from Denmark in front of an awe-inspired crowd.