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SANIKILUAQ - Sanikiluamuitait youth are boppin' to the beat and laying down some tunes in the most cutting-edge way, thanks to some new video games at Nuiyak school.

The school has purchased copies of Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero 3 which students can play every Friday during the school's weekly movie nights.

Lizzie Emikotailuk steps in time with the music of Dance Dance Revolution as her principal John Stewart looks on. The video game is one of the most physically-exerting on the market. - photo courtesy of Paul Robinson

"It's a good thing for students to have a great time Friday night, to enjoy themselves," said Chris Kittosuk, one of the rotating organizers of the movie nights.

In Dance Dance Revolution, players physically dance on a mat of pressure pads, placing their feet on precise locations in time with music. The game is a worldwide phenomenon and one of the few video games that make players get off the couch and exercise. Principal John Stewart says it is popular with his female students, who have more selective tastes than boys in video games.

In Guitar Hero 3, players use a push-button electronic guitar to simulate the real thing. The combination of music and the fake guitar create the sensation of actually creating the music, which has made the Guitar Hero series of video games internationally popular with gamers who lack actual musical ability.

The two games are additions to Nuiyak school's video game collection, which includes war simulators, racing games and the NHL Hockey series. Nuiyak school principal John Stewart said he is pleased the new games are popular with his female students, who have been less interested in the older games than the boys have been.

For his part, Kittosuk is a fan of the NHL Hockey series, where players control an entire hockey team and compete with one another. A new NHL Hockey game comes out every year, updated with the league's current team rosters and ever-advancing computer graphics. NHL Hockey 2008 is one of the most popular video games at Nuiyak school, according to Kittosuk.

Eight years ago Stewart brought his interest in electronic entertainment to Sanikiluaq to provide a way for students to enjoy themselves in a drug- and alcohol-free environment. The video games are available to students every other Friday on the school's movie nights.

Nuiyak school's movie nights are a draw in themselves. Stewart has kept up with the most current technology with a state-of-the-art, theatre-quality movie projector and a 10-metre projection screen, Blu-Ray video player and surround-sound speaker system.

Four student groups of roughly eight students each take turns managing the movie nights. They set up and run the equipment and staff the concession stand where students can buy snack food. Besides principal Stewart, three other teachers help supervise and take part in meeting of the council, which consists of the four groups.

The school shows two movies each movie night in the gym. The first movie is suitable for children and the second is more for teenagers. Movie nights are free of charge and open to the general public as long as no one is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.