Manitoba Indigenous group stuns judges on Canada’s Got Talent

Three siblings from Winnipeg are jigging their way across some of the biggest stages in Canada. The Indigenous performers known as the Ivan Flett memorial dancers, wowed judges and audiences Tuesday night when they showcased their speedy footwork on Canada’s Got Talent.

“Yo man, like being there it was a huge deal for us. The nerves really kick in when you are backstage waiting and them… you hear the buzzers you know and, everything was just happening really quickly,” explained Mikey Harris, Ivan Flett memorial dancer.

On the show, Mikey, Jacob and Cienna Harris performed a traditional red river jig, a style of Metis dancing that blends Scottish and French-Canadian step dancing. The siblings took it one step further and merged the jigging with hip hop.

“My main reasoning for that is kind of trying to attract the youth and you know, trick them into wanting to learn about the Red River Jig because you know, it’s hip hop, and it kind of just really captures their attention.”

It definitely caught the attention of the show’s judges, who were dancing along. Harris says the group’s goal is to share the Metis story.

Harris says some elders in the community have been unhappy with the group because they are moving away from the traditional forms, but the elders got on board when the group convinced them they are attracting the youth to learn about Metis heritage and culture.

“So, we always bring it back to the roots because that’s something that’s really important to us, even today I was showing the kids what traditional jigging looks like so whenever were teaching dance we always show them the roots and then we kind of lead into the modernized stuff”.

The group is also dancing to keep their grandfather’s memory alive. They changed their name to the Ivan Flett Memorial dancers after their grandfather passed away. The siblings say he was one of their biggest supporters.

Many Canadians tuned in to watch the show Tuesday evening, including their Grandmother Dawn Flett, who taught the siblings how to Jig.

“Oh it was amazing, it was very emotional, yea I cried. They made me very proud,” Fleet.

Where they go from here isn’t yet clear for the group. But what is clear, is the siblings do have talent and love bringing their unique dance style to audiences.