Peggy Revell
Students at Lac La Croix School have their sights set on the big stage in Toronto.
With teamwork and dedication, students have been training in dance since January as part of the “Outside Looking In” program—the brainchild of professional dancer Tracee Smith to give aboriginal youth in Canada the chance to express themselves through the arts while giving Canadians the opportunity to learn about the aboriginal people of this country.
“It’s making an impact on the students,” said Linda Allen, a teacher’s aide who is a part of the OLI committee at the school, which is located in the First Nation community east of Fort Frances.
“It’s brought big changes in them, a lot of changes, good changes,” she enthused.
Beginning in January, students have rehearsed every day for an hour, Allen explained. And every two weeks, a professional dance choreographer from New York comes in to teach them.
Then in June, the students will travel to Toronto for two weeks, where they will meet other participating students from Pikangikum First Nation (north of Red Lake) and the Mushuau Innu First Nation in Labrador.
There, they’ll learn more routines, tour the city, and ultimately take to stage and perform in front of an audience at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Performing Arts on June 22.
But the big catch is that to make it to Toronto, students have to maintain their grades and can’t be late for either school or dance practice, Allen stressed.
This actually is the third time the school has participated in the program. Last time around, only eight students completed the program, but this time, of the 25 students who started out, 20 are still on their way to completing it, she noted.
“It’s life-changing—it’s definitely life-changing for anybody that’s involved,” said Grade 12 student Jessica Atatise, who is participating in the program for the second time.
Her favourite part of it is the incentive it provides—getting to dance on the stage, and the motivation to come to school and finish her work.
“Before I was in OLI, I wasn’t very motivated because I didn’t think I would ever be able to accomplish something outside of the reserve,” Atatise explained.
“But it just opened my eyes and showed me the outside world and that I can do anything I want to, that I can achieve anything.
“I’ve learned from the program that my success is determined by me,” she stressed.
With the teamwork, discipline, and heavier workload for the participating youths, the program is “just an all-around character builder” for students, praised school principal Robert Beaudin.
Given the remote location they’re in, there’s limited opportunities for youth compared to growing up in places like a city, noted Beaudin. But this program is ideal for engaging them in a discipline, the dramatic arts and dance.
As well, they’re seeing more male participants than female ones.
“It’s a school-builder from a number of aspects, particularly with attendance,” Beaudin said, adding a couple of students have “turned their semester around” due to their participation in the program, with their academics “really skyrocketing.”
“They’ve really picked up the pace and their attendance has turned around,” he remarked. “[Participants] develop a commitment towards it, we see the benefits.”
He added parents also are becoming much more in tune with how their children are doing.
The change isn’t just in academics but in the students’ confidence, Beaudin stressed.
“[It’s] taking away from their shyness,” he explained. “They’re very much more expressive with this medium.
“That part of it is great to see, and we see that every practice.”
“I have a group of students that have really turned themselves around to accommodate this—both academically and personally,” said Michael Mott, one of the teachers involved with the OLI program.
One benefit is how it’s also promoting a healthy active lifestyle, added Mott, who teaches phys. ed., noting that from initial physical assessments of the students at the beginning of the program, they’ve made “leaps and bounds” and attained personal goals they’ve set.
“All around there’s just a positive attitude around it—something that the school needs, that’s for sure.”
For Grade 10 student Lance Geyshick, “everything”—from dancing on stage, meeting professional dancers from New York, and seeing Toronto—is his favourite part about OLI.
Like Atatise, he is a repeat participant for the program, having first heard about it when he was 12.
“Every 12-year-old thinks of a dance as just being a dance,” Geyshick noted. “No hard work involved, they think its easy.
“That’s what I thought.
“But going through it, it was definitely hard but it was well worth it,” he said, adding it’s made him more mature, he’s discovered he’s a good leader, and has “more confidence in myself than I thought.”
Geyshick also has seen changes in his peers.
“They’re all trying in school now. They’re not shy at all,” he remarked. “And they’re learning that they can do anything in life.”
Geyshick also credited the teachers for the big role they play in the program.
“They get us to school, they teach us, and they take their own time—even though they don’t have to—they volunteer to help us with the dance,” he noted.
“Without them, it wouldn’t be a success.”
The confidence students have gained from the program also shows, said Allen, who has been working to document the program, through photography, videography, and interviewing the students.
“Some wouldn’t even talk in front of a camera before,” she noted. “Some are being more responsible, they’re not being late for school. They’re being on time for rehearsals.
“They work harder in class to keep up their grades because that’s what they have to do in order to stay in the program.”
As part of their journey to Toronto, one of the challenges between the three participating communities is to see which can raise the most money towards the trip.
So far, Lac La Croix has raised about $3,600 of its $10,000 goal. To raise more, Allen said students and adults are planning a “walk-a-thon” tomorrow (April 14).
For those who have never been to the community, it’s located 76 km south of Highway #11.
“So we’re attempting to walk the 76 km on April 14,” she explained, noting anyone in the community interested in helping out with a donation can contact the school at 485-2402.
