PAULATUK - The pumping rhythms of the Black Eyed Peas song "One Tribe" echo from the gym at Angik School in Paulatuk.

Nearly every student at Angik School showed up for after-school workshops with three dance choreographers earlier this month. Three Toronto-based artists ran the school gym classes, taught spoken word poetry classes and showed the students break dancing and hip hop moves. - photo courtesy of Jessica Schmidt

Inside, nearly 40 kids are dipping their shoulders, side-stepping to the beat and practising their best swagger.

Urban attitude isn't a typical component to the small school's gym classes, but recently dozens of students learned how to bust a well-timed move with the help of three Toronto-based choreographers

Teacher Ed Hogan helped bring the "Ill Skillz" group to the Northern community.

Focusing on dance, motivational speaking and spoken work poetry, the group's philosophy blends ambition with realism, encouraging students to overcome obstacles and reach attainable goals.

"Their message is to inspire young people, to stay in school and get an education. We want you to follow your dream, but you need a fall back plan, in case, heaven forbid, you want to play in the NHL but you get injured and can't make it," explained Hogan, who previously worked with the group at a high school in Toronto.

Hogan said students responded well to the discussions about work ethic and the sacrifices required to succeed.

"These kids (the choreographers, all in their early 20s) are able to make that instant connection because they're so good at what they do that the children will listen to them," Hogan said.

Grade 11 student Bessie Lennie said she enjoyed the step, break dancing and the hip-hop, all of which she'd never tried before.

"It's a really good work out, along with having fun," she said. "It's way different (than a usual week in school) … It's great. They're really amazing dancers and we've been learning a lot from them."

Like at many small schools, attendance at Angik School can be a problem, but Hogan said the halls were noticeably fuller while the Ill Skillz instructors were in town.

"We had kids show up today and I heard girls talking, 'Oh my god, you're here today,' and the other one goes, 'I wouldn't miss this,'" he said.

Almost 50 kids not only attended school, but they stayed for the two-hour after-school program.

"We've been having fun every day since they've been here," Lennie added. "Students have been coming every morning when they usually sleep in (for the 9 a.m. gym class)."

"We haven't had one boring moment. The kids' reception has been really cool. We've felt really welcome," said choreographer Carlos Aster Taguba, speaking on a break during one of four after school sessions.

Taguba and two other choreographers took turns teaching step dance, break dance and studio hip-hop.

"They learn real quickly," he said. "Even the younger ones have been very disciplined. They've been showing up to all of their practices. It's a good energy to have around you – kids laughing, and them trying the moves, it's kind of cute," he said.

With many of moves unfamiliar – from break dancing on the floor to step dance – which uses feet and other body parts to generate sound – many students picked up on how to mimic "hip hop attitudes and facial expressions."

"You just try to make it look cool and urban," said Taguba.

But it wasn't just about the choreographers teaching new dance steps or talking about spoken work poetry in the classroom. Taguba said part of the goal was to get the students excited about sharing their own culture.

"It's a sharing of the cultures and that's really something not a lot of people get to experience and it surely broadens the way we experience life," he said.

Taguba hopes some students will be able to bring their drumming skills to next year's Ill Skillz "Urban Culture Day," an event put on with 10 schools in Toronto every February.

Taguba believes music and dancing can bring people together.

"All cultures are very interconnected and I believe that has a lot to do with drums and feeling the rhythms. Different places, different combinations, different beats, but the idea is the same – we all dance to drums and beats," Taguba said.

He said the Paulatuk students would wow the students in Toronto, most of whom have never been exposed to traditional drum dances.

Mixing both the traditional dancing and the new moves, the students' capped off the week with a performance for the community.

Calling the program a complete success, principal Jessica Schmidt said students were inspired and excited after the workshops.

"This has been a huge, huge motivator for them," she said.

Reflecting the day before he was set to board a plane back to Toronto, Taguba said he was moved by his time in the North – from seeing the landscape to realizing how expensive milk is to the warmth of the community.

"We travelled 3,500 km just to experience people," he said. "There's more human interaction here. It's very good for the soul I believe."