Performance program inspires discipline and commitment

At the St. Lawrence Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto on June 22, three young ladies took to the stage to dance to Katy Perry’s Fireworks. And fireworks there wereÖ.the crowd went wild for them.

The three girls, Skye Poker, Heather Pokue and Pishum Rich, all hail from the Mushuau Innu First Nation and had never before performed publicly. They were able to take part in this dance program because of Outside Looking In. Windspeaker wrote about the program in the March issue.

Outside Looking In, also known as OLI, is the brain child of Tracee Smith. She began the program in 2007 and it has since evolved into a charitable organization with considerable success.

OLI has a number of well known and generous contributors, both corporate and private citizens. It appears this program is catching the eye and hearts of a number of people.

OLI offers Aboriginal youth the opportunity to travel to Toronto and perform dances they are taught and have been practicing diligently for the past six months.

The goals of OLI are to encourage Aboriginal youth to commit to a project and stick with it to the end, and gain the opportunity to spend two weeks in the Toronto area sightseeing, rehearsing and capping off their visit with a performance on stage for 800 guests.

The commitment is not just to the dance. The young people have to commit to attending school regularly, maintaining academic standards and not missing any rehearsals without good reason and prior notice to their leader.

“For the communities who have been through our program more than once and youth who have performed on stage more than once, these are the communities that we are seeing the foundational changes occur,” said Smith.

“We are seeing a strong sense of community pride and empowerment of who they are as Aboriginal people today. It is important for our people to know that they can participate in the world beyond the borders of our communities. We just need a vehicle to realize our potential, and OLI is that vehicle.”

The evening began with a VIP reception that was emceed by Carla Robinson of CBC Newsworld. She introduced various speakers, including Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo.

Atleo was charming and relaxed as he offered his encouragement and congratulations to the youth who made it through the program and were able to take part in the evening’s performance.

This was Atleo’s first time viewing an OLI performance. The audience also heard from a few of the youth themselves.

Poker, age 13, took to the podium to thank her teachers and volunteers for all their help and to speak of the fun she has when she dances.

Isaac Pascal gave a speech, after a comedic search for his notes and much laughter from his audience, thanking the volunteers for all their hard work and support.

Many awards and certificates of appreciation were handed out to the volunteers that worked tirelessly with the young people over the past six months getting them ready for their performance in Toronto.

The two weeks the young people spent in the Toronto area weren’t entirely spent on rehearsal and preparation, however.

Shanialyn Suggashie spoke of a number of firsts for her, not the least of which was seeing Niagara Falls and going to a Blue Jays game.

Shanialyn said she “loves to dance” and hopes to continue to do so.

The youth were introduced to the corporate world and how it works by touring the TD Centre, including the trading floor of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

A number of these youth are repeat performers. Smith, in her address at the VIP reception, said some of the performers were there for the third time. Lance Geyshick of Lac La Croix and Alexander Quill of Pikangikum First Nation are two of those performers.

OLI also had a number of second year performers, including Jenni Geyshick and Tammy Suggashie. The young people end up recruiting family and friends into the program when they go home with their stories of their adventures.

The performance itself was a combination of color, music, a video of the journey these youth took to be chosen to be in the final performance in Toronto, and the teachers and volunteer experiences as well.

It was not an easy journey for any of them and many fell along the way from the final 39 performers, where 16 of them were returning performers.

With the high school drop-out rate amongst Aboriginal students being high, there was an inspiring finale to the show. Each student danced by with one red rose to give to their friend and fellow performer Jessica Atatise. It ended with Jessica, a recent high school graduate, holding an armful of red roses surrounded by her proud and smiling fellow students.