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Waiting on a call Rankin drum dancer could have shot at appearing in new movie
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Published Tuesday, June 11, 2013
KANGIQLINIQ/RANKIN INLET
It's been an exciting and nervous couple of weeks for drum dancer Johnny Aupilardjuk of Rankin Inlet.
Drum dancer Johnny Aupilardjuk of Rankin Inlet received a phone call about a possible chance to perform in a movie this past month. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo
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Aupilardjuk, 32, was contacted this past month to gauge his interest in performing in an upcoming movie.
The woman he spoke with said she'd be back in touch with him in a few weeks.
It's two weeks later and he's still waiting.
"Her name is Samantha Hampton and the movie is called The Midnight Moon," said Aupilardjuk.
"It was a pretty exciting call, so I hope I hear from her again.
"Hopefully, they'll ask me to take part, but, either way, I'd like to know."
Aupilardjuk began drum dancing at the age of 12, and was strongly encouraged by his late father, Mariano.
Over the years, he's drum danced for the Inuit Circumpolar Conference and the National Aboriginal Health Organization.
His talents have taken him from drum-dance festivals in Rankin, to Repulse Bay, Iqaluit, Kugaaruk, Milton, Ont., and Pearson College in Victoria, B.C., among others.
Dancing for the circumpolar conference in Nuuk, Greenland, at the age of 16 remains one of Johnny's fondest memories.
He said he's happy to see a renewed interest in drum dancing the past few years.
"Our elders asked for more youths to get involved with our traditions and people have been getting interested in drum dancing again.
"It's been an Inuit tradition for a very long time and my father was a well-known drum dancer, so I'm happy to keep both Inuit and my father's tradition going."
Johnny said the tradition has changed a bit over the years, most notably with more than one drum dancer performing at a time.
He said he prefers the traditional way, dancing by himself with ayaya, but he's OK with the modern versions.
"Today you see three to five drum dancers at a time on TV, but that's not the traditional way.
"Many elders don't like it done that way, but I'm OK with it for entertainment.
"It's all about the way you want to dance from the first time you grab the drum, not the way others want you to dance.
"It's best for someone starting to come up with their own style, not trying to copy the way others drum dance."
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