The sound of the drum echoes off the walls of Oriole Park Elementary School gym before the start of the Red Deer Aboriginal Dance Troupe gathering.
Parents and children spill into the gym, with some youngsters immediately dancing and others chatting with friends.
Some dancers are in sock feet, others in moccasins, with many proudly displaying their Red Deer Aboriginal Dance Troupe T-shirts.
The biweekly Monday meetings are more than a hobby for the children.
It’s a way for them to connect with First Nations culture, express themselves and always be welcomed with open arms.
The dance troupe has existed for nearly 11 years and it continues to grow.
Each gathering officially starts with a prayer and then the dancing around the circle begins — grass dance, fancy, traditional, jingle dress, chicken, hoop and jigging.
Older dancers hold the hands of the toddlers and four- and five-year-olds, leading them around the circle.
Taylor Crane, 13, started at age eight. The grass dancer has already shown tremendous promise, coming in second in the teen grass dance at the Canadian Aboriginal Festival in Hamilton at the end of November. Crane was one of 16 dancers from the Red Deer Aboriginal Dance Troupe who attended the event and he has already shared some of what he learned with the younger dancers.
“It’s awesome because they look up to you,” Crane said. “They want to see what you do and then they try to mimic it.”
He said the basic dance steps are easy, but it’s hard to learn new moves.
Crane was particularly impressed at getting to see a five-time champion grass dancer perform at the festival.
Greg Southcombe, one of the volunteer parents who helps run the group, said the festival in Hamilton allowed the young dancers to see better dancers, which allows them to progress.
But besides the dancing, Southcombe said the children also had exposure to many new things, with many having their first plane trip and even getting to see Niagara Falls, with the Native Friendship Centre in Hamilton hosting them for a couple of days.
He said the young dancers are also becoming more outgoing and learning to be good speakers and leaders in the community.
During a recent gathering of the dance troupe, the children danced clockwise around the circle, the direction of the sun. Some spread their arms wide in flowing movements, doing fancy dance, others were more restrained, doing traditional dance.
Taylee Giroux, six, has danced since she started walking.
As a fancy dancer, she wears a blue and magenta dress, with a beautiful shawl, with fringe that sways as she moves.
She said the hardest thing to learn is the footwork as a fancy dancer.
Giroux loves dancing with the other youngsters in the group. Her five siblings, ranging in age from two to 13, also take part.
“It feels great,” she said. “Because I get to learn new styles. I’ve been every style except the boys’ (style).”
She enjoyed going to the festival in Hamilton.
“It was very scary because I’m a little shy, but not always,” Giroux said.
Justine Lattery, six, who dances jingle dress with the troupe, also got to take part in the Hamilton festival.
She liked learning new dances, such as the rabbit dance. Lattery has been dancing for two and a half years and she looks up to the adults who run the dance troupe, as well as the older dancers.
Towards the end of the practice, there is a chance for everyone to take to the floor during the owl dance, with partners going through a procession of people and then winding up in a circle.
Southcombe said the Red Deer troupe is open to everyone, offering non-natives a chance to learn more about First Nations culture and diversity and offering First Nations children the opportunity to see how positive their culture is.
The group practises every second Monday night at Oriole Park School. For more information on the dance troupe, call 403-309-6090.
sobrien@www.reddeeradvocate.com