Oshawa and Durham Region Métis Council

The Olivine Bousquet Dancers Rock at Back to Batoche 2012!!!

The Oshawa & Durham Region Métis Council is extremely proud of the Olivine Bousquet Métis Dancers – the girls performed to loud applause – and standing ovations – at the 2012 Back to Batoche Days. Brittney, Chontelle, Aurielle and Ginny represented the council well with a number of routines performed over two days in front of enthusiastic crowds, showing a level of skill and creativity that was enjoyed by all. JJ Lavallee – and other accomplished fiddlers – played for them – making each and every performance high-energy, original, and extremely entertaining! It was a joy to watch them, and a wonderful experience for them to be there as evidenced by some of their comments.

The feedback from others was equally positive. We heard glowing reports from Yvonne Chartrand who helped get the dance troupe started a few years ago. Robert Doucette, the President of the Saskatchewan Métis Federation said the girls were “awesome” and there were many others in the crowd who came up to pass on their congratulations on the dancers performance.

Claire Belanger-Parker who organized the event wrote:

It was truly a pleasure to have the Olivine Bousquet Métis Dancers perform at the Back to Batoche Days 2012. Their unique style of performance brought great variety to our entertainment. We heard great comments throughout, many of the evaluations received indicate how much the dancing showcase was appreciated. We are delighted we could host the dancers on site for the duration of their stay, they were very accommodating and we sincerely appreciated their collaboration.

We hope to have the honour to welcome the Olivine Bousquet Métis Dancers again in the future and until then, we wish them great success.

Providing some of our youth the chance to participate first hand in the culture of this historic Métis community was a wonderful opportunity and I think they all were moved by the experience. And being able to watch the girls perform firsthand was definitely a privilege, as the president of the ODRMC I was very proud to have them represent our council and pay tribute to Olivine Bousquet Tiedema, in whose honour the troupe is named. Their enthusiasm, energy and creativity was amazing – I have never seen them perform better!

- Robert Pilon, President

"Having the privilege of going to perform at Back To Batoche in Saskatchewan was such an amazing experience. To be able to experience the Metis culture in full swing was a big highlight for me. it was such an awesome atmosphere full of music, dancing and great people who were extremely welcoming."

"It was great for us to meet different dance groups and see the more modern style of jigging. We got to learn some of their steps and also showed them some of ours. We developed contacts and have gained even more opportunities to do what we love and to share the dancing aspect of the Metis culture with others."

"It was amazing to be back at Batoche after having canoed there seven years ago from Thunder Bay on the MNO's Metis Canoe Expedition in 2005. I was very excited to be going back and to be performing, but also a bit nervous at the same time since I have seen how good the talent is at Batoche."

"We received so much encouragement and lots of people commented on our traditional steps. I felt the performances went great! People were really impressed when we started jigging and playing the spoons at the same time. I want to give a big thank you to the Council for sending me, and to Brittney, Chontele and Auriele for letting me perform with them. It was a very memorable weekend."