The first season of Canada's Got Talent ended May 14 with a huge surprise as three young Ojibway lads from a Manitoba reserve took home the grand prize and a year's bragging rights as the best new talent in the country for 2012.
Sagkeeng's Finest, a gifted and hard-working trio of young Native step dancers, improved at every stage of the competition. They proved that all they needed was a chance and a little professional coaching to reach the top. Amazingly, they had never worn proper tap shoes before, yet their final performance was a great tap dance learned in less than a week. New shoes, new dance, newly crowned winners!
The trio consists of Vincent O'Laney, age 17, and brothers Brandon and Dallas Courchene, ages 18 and 17 respectively. They were encouraged to try traditional step dancing by the tribal elders when the reserve started a drama and arts program about five years ago, and enjoyed it so much that they continued to dance and improve their skills.
The group auditioned for Canada's Got Talent in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where they performed a traditional country western style step dance. Dallas was still just 16 years old while the other two were 17. All three looked younger than their years, but their performance was well done, and judges Martin Short, Measha Brueggergosman and Stephan Moccio voted them through to the next round in Toronto.
The coaching they received in Toronto added polish to these already excellent dancers without changing their basic style. In the semi-finals, they wore traditional country clogging outfits of white shoes and pants and red shirts. At the end of the performance, the boys ripped open the shirts, revealing black tees proclaiming "We've Got Talent" to add a modern twist to the outfits.
For the finals, they were dressed in a sort of Irish style with vests and caps, which made them look very professional and identified them, not as cloggers or as country dancers of some kind, but as dancers, plain and simple. It was a very smart decision. Clearly they were an act to be reckoned with, especially when they unleashed their mad new tap skills. In additional to being one of the best overall acts on the night in both performance and appearance, this was the most improved act overall.
Sagkeeng's Finest had the unenviable position of going first in the final, never ideal in a competition. As a result, the audience had to remember how good they were while sitting through many excellent performances from the other 11 finalists. But in the recap at the end of the show, their quality shone through, and clearly struck a chord with the voting public. The result was an amazing first place finish.
After their performance in the final on May 13, host Dina Pugliese asked what they would do with the
$100,000 prize money if they won, and right away they said they would build a dance
studio so they wouldn't have to practice in basements or outside. What a great gift that would be to their community!
The young men of Sagkeeng's Finest are role models, not just for First Nations people, but for everyone in Canada, of any age or cultural background. They are wonderful examples of what people can accomplish with passion, hard work and dedication.
Well done, Sagkeeng's Finest!
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