"The History of Our Symbols"

Dance

The traditional dance of the Metis is the Red River Jig. It is a unique fast-paced moving dance that follows traditional Metis fiddle music. Irish and Scottish people introduced "Step Dancing." The Metis Jig evolved with a bounce in the jigging created by uneven and irregular beats in the fiddle music. The extra beats make the Jig a fast dance. For the Red River Jig the fiddle is tuned with the bottom string being raised up from G to A. The Jig is played and danced in two sections. The dancer does a basic jig step during high section of the fiddle music (toe-tapping), and does a fancy jig step when the fiddler changes to the low section (heels or spoons). Babies learn Metis dance as they are bounced on friendly knees to the unique beat.