Creolizing Contradance in the Caribbean - Temple University
Creolizing Contradance in the Caribbean - Temple University
Creolizing Contradance in the Caribbean - Temple University
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14 Peter Manuel<br />
Some figures would correspond to counterparts <strong>in</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r contemporary<br />
dances. For example, <strong>the</strong> contradance’s open<strong>in</strong>g paseo section had analogous<br />
passages <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Spanish bolero dat<strong>in</strong>g from <strong>the</strong> late 1700s and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> earlytwentieth-century<br />
Argent<strong>in</strong>e tango; <strong>the</strong> paseo also constituted a counterpart to<br />
<strong>the</strong> promenade of <strong>the</strong> contemporary mazurka, quadrille, schottische, reel, and<br />
Lancers. In <strong>the</strong> contradanza—especially <strong>the</strong> Puerto Rican danza and Dom<strong>in</strong>ican<br />
salon merengue—<strong>the</strong> paseo could serve as an <strong>in</strong>troductory section that<br />
allowed dancers to array <strong>the</strong>mselves properly on <strong>the</strong> ballroom floor. In <strong>the</strong> case<br />
of a controversial dance, such as <strong>the</strong> 1850s merengue, it could even serve to<br />
lure to <strong>the</strong> floor unsuspect<strong>in</strong>g dancers who might o<strong>the</strong>rwise be reluctant to<br />
<strong>in</strong>dulge <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> more libert<strong>in</strong>e (sandungo) couple dance that followed; sometimes<br />
musicians might repeat <strong>the</strong> paseo until <strong>the</strong> floor was full. In a repeated<br />
Cuban contradanza and <strong>the</strong> later danzón (as <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> archaic Spanish bolero), <strong>the</strong><br />
paseo could recur throughout <strong>the</strong> dance, allow<strong>in</strong>g some welcome respite <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
sultry <strong>Caribbean</strong> climate.<br />
Gradually, throughout <strong>the</strong> Spanish <strong>Caribbean</strong> and unevenly <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> French<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong>, <strong>the</strong> practice of collectively perform<strong>in</strong>g figures—whe<strong>the</strong>r fixed by<br />
convention or directed by a caller—came to be seen as old-fashioned and<br />
<strong>in</strong>hibit<strong>in</strong>gly structured. To some extent <strong>in</strong>spired by <strong>the</strong> waltz, with which <strong>the</strong><br />
contradance was often paired <strong>in</strong> performance, <strong>the</strong> new format allowed couples<br />
to dance <strong>in</strong>dependently, embrac<strong>in</strong>g loosely—or perhaps <strong>in</strong>timately—<strong>in</strong> ballroom<br />
posture. The break with <strong>the</strong> older style was not complete, as certa<strong>in</strong> contradanza<br />
figures could be reta<strong>in</strong>ed, <strong>in</strong> disarticulated form, by <strong>the</strong> couples, and<br />
<strong>the</strong> accompany<strong>in</strong>g music seems to have undergone a gradual process of creolization<br />
ra<strong>the</strong>r than a dramatic rupture. To some extent, <strong>in</strong> Cuba <strong>the</strong> transition<br />
constituted a focus on <strong>the</strong> f<strong>in</strong>al cedazo figure of <strong>the</strong> contradanza, which<br />
traditionally consisted of <strong>in</strong>dependent couple danc<strong>in</strong>g, like <strong>the</strong> last figure of<br />
some quadrille styles. Never<strong>the</strong>less, <strong>the</strong> change was radical enough to occasion<br />
spirited, if unsuccessful, opposition by traditionalists who felt that <strong>the</strong><br />
new dance style was asocial and <strong>in</strong>decent, as it allowed <strong>in</strong>timate embrac<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and sensual hip-sway<strong>in</strong>g. Much of <strong>the</strong> scanty documentation of <strong>the</strong> mid-n<strong>in</strong>eteenth-century<br />
contradanza variants consists of bilious condemnations by moralists<br />
offended by <strong>the</strong> new style <strong>in</strong> which partners could whisper and embrace<br />
amorously—perhaps separat<strong>in</strong>g by a few <strong>in</strong>ches only if some officious mart<strong>in</strong>et<br />
shouted “¡Que haya luz!” (“Let <strong>the</strong>re be light [show<strong>in</strong>g between <strong>the</strong> two of<br />
you]!”). In Haiti, <strong>the</strong> change came <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> form of <strong>the</strong> mér<strong>in</strong>gue, a couple dance<br />
that, accord<strong>in</strong>g to Jean Fouchard ([1973] 1988: 96–97), replaced <strong>the</strong> collective<br />
carab<strong>in</strong>ier, a derivative of <strong>the</strong> contredanse.<br />
Throughout <strong>the</strong> Spanish <strong>Caribbean</strong>, collective longways-style danc<strong>in</strong>g<br />
effectively disappeared, except <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> tumba francesa, where contradance figures<br />
are still performed to neo-African-style drumm<strong>in</strong>g. In <strong>the</strong> Dom<strong>in</strong>ican<br />
Republic, contradanza choreography, as practiced <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> context of <strong>the</strong> local<br />
tumba, decl<strong>in</strong>ed after <strong>the</strong> 1860s, henceforth persist<strong>in</strong>g primarily <strong>in</strong> a tumba