Indigenous Artist

André Bessette is a lifelong, uninvited visitor to the unceded and ancestral lands of the sc̓əwaθən məsteyəxʷ, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ Nations in so-called Vancouver. He is Red River Métis, and mixed settler of French, Croatian and Irish ancestry, with Métis family ties to Grantown, Fort Garry, and Cayer on the ancestral territories of the Anishinaabe and Ininew Nations where Treaty 1 and 2 lay. As a disconnected urban Métis, André is reclaiming his grandmother’s heritage through reconnecting with family, urban cousins, as well as Métis history, culture, and dance.

Taught by Yvonne Chartrand, Artist Director of V’ni Dansi, and other Métis dancers since 2017, André found the gregariousness of Métis jigging matched his personality. He has trained in breakdancing, swing dance, house, acrobatics and contemporary dance. As a community trained dancer, André values community approaches to the exchange of dance. He firmly believes that dance is for every human, and everyone expresses themselves through motion.

André is intrigued by dance styles that develop through cultural, interpersonal, and passionate exchanges. Inspired by his earliest experience teaching himself breakdancing from bboy/bgirl blogsites and community center open practices; André values the spirit of ‘street dance’ when style and steps are built by community rather than a formal institution. Métis jigging combines footwork and tempos from Ininew, Anishnaabe, French, Irish, and Scottish cultural dances into a unique style. André desires to preserve Métis jigging while continuing to innovate, grow, and adapt alongside it.

Andre has performed in Compaigni V’ni Dansi’s Annual Louis Riel Day Celebration (2019-2025), Talking Stick Festival (2020, 2022, 2023), Vancouver Pride Parade (2022, 2023), Transform Festival (2025) and competed at Back to Batoche Days and Asham Stomperfest in (2023-2025). He has also performed solo or collaborative works for Geekenders Performing Arts Society, Rumble Theatre, and Young Lungs Dance Exchange (Winnipeg). He is currently Artist-in-Residence at The Dance Centre and is working towards his first dance production.

INDIGENOUS ANCESTRY

Métis

SELF-IDENTIFICATION

Red River Métis