At Wednesday’s Tłı̨chǫ Annual Gathering talent show in Whatì, people posted dozens of videos showing the competitors. Each got a little love. One of them got a million views and 6,600 shares.
The dynamic, flamboyant and perfectly synchronized jigging of siblings Jacob and Cieanna Harris lit up the room and the internet. Two days later, practically the entire Northwest Territories had viewed their performance – which they hadn’t even planned to give.
“Me and my brother Mikey, we went to enter the singing talent competition. We weren’t even going to enter the jigging,” Jacob told Cabin Radio, “but the lady organizing it came up to us and told us to enter.”
There’s a good reason she did that. Jacob and Cieanna are not just any jigging duo – they’re part of the Ivan Flett Memorial Dancers, a group that has previously performed on Canada’s Got Talent and shared a stage with Shania Twain.
The dancers had been booked to perform at the Tłı̨chǫ Annual Gathering on Thursday. Jacob and Cieanna took to the dancefloor the night before for the fun of it.
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“We made this routine when we were younger. We don’t really do it in our shows, but we used to enter couples competitions back home,” Jacob said. Members of the group have been jigging since they were five, he added, explaining how the routine appeared so effortless. (Jacob is now 24, he said, and Cieanna is 23.)
In the background, dad Ashley Sinclair – who acts as the group’s MC and manager – adds that the routine made them three-time couples jigging world champions.
“But we didn’t expect it to go viral like that,” he said.
“We didn’t even have practice,” said Cieanna. “We knew our routine and we just nailed it.”
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“Me and Cieanna are really good at just getting up and getting a dance on wherever we’re at,” added Jacob. “We can change something on stage really fast. I’ll whisper something to her and she’ll just get it. We adapt really quick when we’re on stage and that’s why she’s my favourite partner.”
The group is based in Winnipeg. Its members tour across the country, performing at shows.
They told Cabin Radio they’ve already had requests, since this week’s video went viral, to perform in other northern communities and hold workshops during the school year. A workshop in Whatì earlier in the week attracted eight young participants.
“My favourite part is spreading the dance, teaching the youth and keeping the dance alive,” said Jacob.
“Travelling to these northern communities, we’ve been doing it from a young age. The energy we got last night from the crowd was pretty amazing. We were saying after our performance that it was one of the loudest crowds we’ve had in a long time.”
“Yesterday’s crowd was definitely the biggest in a long time,” said Cieanna. “After we were done dancing, I looked in the crowd and everyone was cheering and smiling, recording – and it just made me so happy.”
