Iqaluit (Feb 27/06) - Rap is something you do, hip-hop is something you live.

Those are the words of New York hip-hop legend KRS-One of Boogie Down Productions. KRS-One would have felt right at home at Inuksuk high school in Iqaluit last week. The kids were living out their hip-hop dreams.

It is officially called "Connecting with Nunavut Youth Through Hip-hop," but the 100 youth at Inuksuk high school couldn't care what you call it. They are dancing.

The group of 100 students are hanging off every move of the Canadian Floor Masters. The crowd is half guys, half girls, and are getting a lifetime of hip-hop culture in one week.

Steve Leafloor goes by the street dancing name "Buddha." He is 46-years-old and a full-time social worker in Ottawa. When he was asked to come to Iqaluit for the program, he jumped at the chance.

"These kids are really excited and really shy. They need personal encouragement in a way that doesn't make them feel bad," said Leafloor.

He brought 10 members of the Canadian Floor Masters to Iqaluit with him. The breakdance team first works with the entire group, then breaks down into smaller and smaller groups.

"The magic happens in the smaller groups. They get encouraged and that goes a long way to making the next step," said Leafloor.

Individual style is important in hip-hop dancing. Each dancer incorporates something original into his or her dancing, a signature move or style. Leafloor sees a traditional Inuit culture as a touchstone these kids can claim as their own.

"The Arctic sports, some of those events are similar to the moves we hold," said Leafloor.

"Hip-hop is not an exclusive export of New York city," said Leafloor.

The Canadian Floor Masters got their name more than 20 years ago from a New York City dance crew, the New York Floor Masters. Now, they have named the Iqaluit dancers the Nunavut Floor Masters, and hope to pass the name along.

"It was a really easy sell," said Gillian Corless when asked how she got funding for the workshop.

She is the co-ordinator for the Nunavut Promise to Children and Youth, the group that put the entire hip-hop week together.

Half of the funding comes from crime prevention, solvent abuse and healthy living money, the other half from in-kind donations from government departments.

"It is a pilot project and there has been some interest in other communities," said Corless.

Mary Tulugak, 17, can't stop smiling when she is dancing.

"It is challenging and it gets your mind thinking. You don't have to be a pro. You can still be challenged," said Tulugak.

Quentin Crockatt, 21, came to Iqaluit just for this week. He works at the daycare in his home of Cambridge Bay and wants to bring the dance crew mentality back to his home.

"It was big there when I was younger and I hope to help bring it back. Our instructor moved away. I want to learn some more moves and get it started back in Cambridge Bay," said Crockatt.

Hip-hop combines a lot of different elements - street dancing, graffiti, music and rap - to form a mosaic of street culture. The thing about a mosaic is you need all the different colours to make the picture.

So with the workshop on the go, Jonathan Cruz's artwork was on point.

The Toronto native moved to Iqaluit a year and a half ago to be with his girlfriend and he brought his art with him. For this hip-hop week, he constructed four stunning murals that combine hip-hop iconography with Inuit symbolism.

"Hip-hop is a bridge to bring these kids back to their culture," said Cruz.