Students and staff from the Amisk Community School gave the traditional Christmas concert a cultural facelift when they performed at the school’s gym in Beaver Lake Cree Nation on December 20.
“The show was beautiful. I think, all the performances were great,” said Amisk School administrator Alvina Glaude. “We had all the school teachers and cultural teachers that helped the students prepare and also helped in decorating the stage.”
Most school students who performed are also a part of a local cultural group called the Meskanakew Ahtayowkan Cultural Club. With the help of their teachers, the students fused traditional indigenous singing and dancing with traditional Christmas performances.
The Concert started off with a Cree prayer, followed by an energetic performance of “Team Dance” by the cultural club. Christmas carols and songs sung by students in Cree and English from, and skits like the “Post Office” and “Christmas guest” were also some of the highlights of the show.
The Amisk Mini Toe Tappers’ “Square dancing” was also on display to show a part of the Metis cultural dance. All of these performances were topped by the “The Fancy Spotlight” dance by members of the Meskanakew Ahtayowkan Cultural Club. A special appearance by Santa at the end of the concert made the event even more exciting for the kids when gifts were distributed amongst them by this special guest.
Gladue and the school staff were proud of the students’ and school staff’s handwork and their performances and how the show turned out to be a great amongst the locals of the community.
“Students were rehearsing for over two weeks and it’s great to see how awesome the performances were.”
