The Northern Lights School of Dance has been selected as the Yukon's cultural contingent for the 2004 Arctic Winter Games in Fort McMurray, Alta.

Eight dancers, along with coach and choreographer Rebecca Reynolds, will perform six different pieces at the Games, which begin with open ceremonies on Saturday.

'They're very talented and work very hard,' said choreographer Dale Cooper in an interview Thursday. 'We are very proud to have them representing us at the Games, and representing the Yukon.

'These are la creme de la creme as far as we're concerned.'

Chelsea Hartwick, Amanda Murdoch, Zoe Freisen, Colleen Stinson, Allyn Walton, Anna Caitlyn Sumanik, Iris Binger and Kendra Thompson will present two jazz pieces, two modern, one hip hop and one theatre jazz piece. All of the dancers ranging in age from 14 to 16 have at least a couple of years' experience and a few have been on stage for more than seven.

'The girls are used to performing,' said Cooper. 'We chose the dancers that showed the highest amount of commitment to their craft. They take a lot of pride in what they do.'

Still, most of the dancers are a little anxious about their upcoming performances only one has performed at AWG before. And to make matters more nerve-wracking, Northern Lights only found out a couple of weeks ago they would be traveling to Fort McMurray.

'We found out just two weeks before the actual date (of the performance), so we have been freaking out,' said Reynolds. 'I think one piece was done. The rest were sort of partly done. Some of them were planned for the year-end show.

The hip hop piece, 'A Games Funk', was choreographed by Shona Wheeler and is AWG sports-oriented, featuring stands and stalls that reflect the movements of Arctic sports. 'Urban Identity', choreographed by Cooper, centres around a young girl who ran away from home. And one of the modern dances, 'Heels', is what Cooper calls 'an expression of femininity.'

Choreographed by Reynolds, 'Heels' focuses on women specifically and the pressures, expectations and gender roles put on them in today's society. The dancers will perform the entire number in high heels.

All of the costumes were designed by Reynolds and Cooper, then brought to life by Andrea Rodger at Sportees Active Wear.

Cooper said the theme sort of turned into things that are prevalent within the dancers' young age group, 'whether it's runaway kids or an identity crisis a lot of things that teenagers this age are going through.'

When asked what makes the Northern Lights' performances unique, Reynolds said there is a lot of variety within the pieces.

'(There is) modern, contemporary, New York jazz and classical jazz,' she said. 'Every piece has it's own flavour. It's a good way to expose people to different forms of movement.'

Reynolds said she is confident the dancers will be able to pull everything off smoothly, despite the lack of practice time. She said younger dancers always seem to come together at the last minute.

'They pull it out the minute a camera comes around or an audience is around,' she smiled. 'I was like that when I was their age too.

'You get nervous, but you get out there and just nail it. The crowd and energy gets them up to their full potential.'

Reynolds and the Northern Lights Dancers will leave for Alberta Saturday. Opening ceremonies for the 2004 Arctic Winter Games will take place at 5 p.m.