When Gurdeep Pandher first visited Whitehorse, in 2011, he knew it was the place for him. A year later, he moved to the northern city and brought his killer dance moves with him.
Pandher has been doing Bhangra — a traditional Punjabi dance — since he was a kid growing up in India, but told BuzzFeed Canada "it got special attention in the Yukon."
He now teaches Bhangra classes in a local church basement. Although Whitehorse does have a small South Asian community, his classes attract people "from all walks of life," he said.
"A beautiful part of my classes is that it’s not only the Punjabi community," he said.
"I want to promote unity. I believe that despite being from different cultures, different background, we can still share our love and stay united."
Pandher also performs at local events and among Yukon's stunning scenery.
Here he is dancing in the dusky rays of the midnight sun.
"The nature, the mountains, it’s very, very pristine. It’s like pure, raw nature," he said.
"My biggest love is when we dance close to nature, sometimes on the banks of a lake or river or in the mountains."
So majestic. So Canadian.
And as he shows his love of dancing to Yukon, he's also showing the beauty of Yukon to the world.
A video of his performance at a Whitehorse Canada Day celebration, along with dance partner Manuela Haemmerli, has blown up on Facebook.
Posted by Raghbir Singh Bharowal, the video has thousands of shares and views. In it, you can also see audience members joining in on the fun.
"First one person, then two people, then 10 people, then everybody was dancing," said Pandher.
"I was so happy seeing how our colorful, beautiful Canada can dance together."
He's also happy that people from all over the world who've been watching the video have gotten a glimpse of the city he loves.
"People here in the North, they have a special love for other people. It's something unique," he said. "The love of the people has kept me here."
