DENINU KU'E/FORT RESOLUTION
Keaden Balsillie says he's learned many things since joining the fiddle and dance group at Deninu School, including the importance of getting back up after falling down.

Braiden Lafferty, Jacob Boucher, Isaac Simon and Ethan McKay give a drumming performance at Deninu School's Christmas concert on Dec. 17. The Deninu Dancers, Fiddlers and Drummers have been working hard to develop their skills since the program began last year. - photo courtesy of Kate Powell Jendayi Lafferty-O'Reilly, Hannah Beck and Kaysea Fountain show off their jigging skills at the Deninu School Christmas concert in Fort Resolution on Dec. 17. - photo courtesy of Kate Powell

"One time I fell down at the end of our performance. I tripped over my own shoe," the Grade 6 student said.

"People just give up after a while if they make mistakes, but you learn from mistakes. Then you get up and go again."

The Deninu Dancers, Fiddlers and Drummers program started last year and teaches students how to jig, fiddle and play traditional drums. Balsillie is just one of the students between ages 9 and 12 who have been learning how to jig and play the fiddle, said teacher Laura Boucher.

After their first performance at Deninu School's Christmas concert, Boucher said the dancers were invited to perform at the Fort Resolution spring carnival in March.

They were a big hit.

"They applauded, they hollered," Boucher said. "They loved it."

Pleasing their audience is one of the best aspects of performing, said dancer Jordon Boucher, Grade 6.

"It makes people happy," he said. "It makes them want to be a jigger and the crowd goes crazy."

Fellow dancer Jude Simon said he agreed.

"It's fun when people clap for you and when you feel the rhythm and they all feel joy with it," he said. "I like it a lot for that reason."

But perfecting the dance moves needed to create a crowd-pleasing performance doesn't come easy, Balsillie said.

Since last year, Simon, Balsillie and Jordon have been dedicating time each week toward mastering their dance skills, Boucher said. They started off by watching Internet videos of other dance groups, including Sagkeeng's Finest, a dance group from Manitoba who won Canada's Got Talent in 2012.

At the end of the school year, Sagkeen's Finest visited Deninu School.

"They were amazing and it was exciting to see," Boucher said.

Since then, the Deninu group has performed throughout the region, including in Hay River and Fort Smith this summer.

Their most recent performance took place during Deninu School's Christmas concert on Dec. 17 where they revealed their latest dance: the traditional southern American country-folk song Cotton-Eyed Joe.

The group practiced in secret for weeks leading up to the concert in order to surprise their audience, Boucher said.

Members of the Kole Crook Fiddling Association have been visiting the community, including Stacey Reid from New Brunswick, according to Boucher, and Reid has been using Internet apps such as FaceTime to teach students when she can't be in the community.

Now that students are getting a handle on basic skills, Boucher said she's setting her sights on a long-term goal - to have students play fiddle music for the dancers during performances.

"One of our goals is to have our local kids fiddle for our dancers," she said.

"I'm hoping they'll learn the songs that we dance to."

In the meantime, Simon said he is keeping busy making sure he's ready.

"My legs do get sore," he said. "But I never give up."

Dominion Diamond Corporation provided $20,000 in funding for Deninu School's fiddle, dance and drumming programming, principal Kate Powell said.