Dancing Gabe to get honorary diploma from Red River College
Posted February 19, 2021 3:12 pm.
Last Updated February 19, 2021 6:37 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WINNIPEG – A Manitoba icon is being awarded an honorary diploma from Red River College this month.
His name is Gabriel Langlois, however, most people know him as “Dancing Gabe”.
Over the last 35 years, generations of Winnipeg sports fans have come to expect Dancing Gabe’s presence at football, baseball, hockey games, and special events in the province.
Next week, Langlois will receive an honorary diploma in Community Development at a virtual ceremony.
“Oh, it’s been an honour,” said Langlois.
Over the decades, Langlois’s popularity has grown out of his own signature sports choreography including dance moves like “fists of fury”, the “caped crusader”, and, of course, “dual air guitars”.
He is known for getting the crowd going and his efforts don’t go unnoticed by teams who often present him with his own special jersey. He says he loves them all, but some a bit more than others.
“I love the royal blue, the Blue Bombers jersey, and the gold jersey from the 2000s.”
But, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Langlois has not been able to be as involved in the Manitoba community as much as he would like.
“It was hard to explain to him that he can’t go anywhere because of [COVID-19], so that was very difficult for him,” explained the dancer’s sister Claudette.
Claudette says the honorary diploma and virtual ceremony were welcome news for Langlois who has been struggling with COVID-19 restrictions and shutdowns.
He has been recognized in the past with the Premier’s volunteer award, the Queen’s diamond jubilee medal, and a City of Winnipeg community service award.
“Gabe is exactly the type of community member that we want to see inside of our community,” said Fred Meier, president and CEO of Red River College.
“He really embodies what that means, and it’s around a sense of building community, embedding community spirit in everything we do, a sense of bringing people together. And when you think about Gabe and what he has done, he really has brought our community together.”
Langlois says he is excited for his big day, however, can’t help but mention a hope that everyone will be able to get back into stadiums, ball diamonds, and arenas sooner than later.
“I hope the fans come back pretty soon. I know it’s been a tough year last year, I hope we’re going to get better pretty soon.”
