Full of movement and life, Davie Atchealak’s signature dancing bears and drum dancers can be viewed as experiments in balance, composition and considered weighting with many gracefully paused mid-turn on a single limb. Born near Kinngait (Cape Dorset), NU, the artist lived and worked in Panniqtuq (Pangnirtung) and Iqaluit, NU. Atchealak’s works have been described as demonstrating a sense of heroic masculinity—a style exemplified by his large carvings of bears and humans with pronounced musculature. Known for his expressive depictions of drum dancers and dancing bears, his figures are captured in the middle of rapid or vigorous motion, such as in Running Bear (2005). Working primarily in stone and bone, Atchealak’s exuberant figures can be found in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada and the Winnipeg Art Gallery and permanently on display in the Vancouver International Airport among other venues.