Laryn Oakes is fulfilling a lifelong dream this week. (Submitted photo/Denis Thorp)

By Nigel Maxwell

Fulfilling a dream

Saskatoon woman joins world renowned Indigenous dance troupe in New York

Nov 12, 2021 | 2:11 PM

Laryn Oakes can fondly recall her days as a young girl, watching her mother dance, dreaming of the day when she herself may get a chance to perform for an audience.

That dream is now becoming a reality as the 25-year-old is in New York this week, performing with Indigenous Enterprise at the Joyce Theatre. The Indigenous Dance Troupe, comprised of eight traditional powwow dancers, has performed all over the world, and earlier this year at U.S. President Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony.

“I think it’s just an awesome opportunity and a culture shock coming here from Saskatchewan. It’s definitely a huge deal,” Oakes told paNOW.

Oakes was invited to come to New York by the group’s founder Kenneth Shirley, a man she has known since high school and even escorted to prom. The credit however for Oakes’ dancing ability goes to her mother, who was the one who taught her, and was a world champion dancer in her own right.

“Everyday she tells me how proud she is of me,” Oakes said. “I always remember being a little girl watching my mom dance, telling myself that I wanted to be just like her.”

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As part of a special feature on the Indigenous Dance Troupe, an article was recently published by Vogue magazine, and within it is a picture of Oakes dancing. She laughs when recalling how Shirley contacted her through Facetime, asking her to stay calm.

“The fact that my picture was used in that, I was just freaking out. I’m still on cloud nine over it,” she said.

Oakes has just completed her first year of teaching at Oskāyak High School in Saskatoon, the same school she graduated from nearly a decade ago. She said if she could pass on one message to the students back home, it would be to believe in themselves, and know whatever they set their mind to, they can do.

“One of the main things we were taught growing up was to finish your education and go out in the world and do whatever it is you wanna do,” she said.

Steven Pisano was the photographer who took the picture of Oakes and told paNOW he’s had an interest since college in Indigenous art and culture. Explaining the show is as educational as it is entertaining, he said it does a great job keeping the culture alive.

“And not just keep it in a nostalgic sort of museum presentation but says this is a thriving part of our heritage and we want to involve people in it,” he said.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell