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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16 Peter Manuel<br />
European-derived choreographic features, and <strong>the</strong> configuration of a “square”<br />
of four couples. More recognizably European <strong>in</strong> format are certa<strong>in</strong> Mart<strong>in</strong>ican<br />
“<strong>in</strong>door” quadrille variants, such as <strong>the</strong> Lancers, <strong>the</strong> pastourelle, and <strong>the</strong> hautetaille,<br />
with its caller-like commandeur; <strong>the</strong> Guadeloupean quadrille of Grand-<br />
Terre, with its staid, slow, and restra<strong>in</strong>ed movements, also contrasts markedly<br />
with dances like <strong>the</strong> vigorous and upbeat Mart<strong>in</strong>ican cal<strong>in</strong>da. Most <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
quadrille dance styles require a fair amount of learn<strong>in</strong>g and rehearsal, even<br />
<strong>in</strong> comparison to o<strong>the</strong>r European-derived genres, and hence <strong>the</strong>y traditionally<br />
enjoy a sort of prestige vestigially associated with <strong>the</strong> plantocracy.<br />
A dist<strong>in</strong>guish<strong>in</strong>g feature of <strong>the</strong> quadrille (aside from its four-couple formations)<br />
is <strong>the</strong> format of a suite of movements—most typically, five—which may<br />
differ accord<strong>in</strong>g to locale. In many cases, <strong>the</strong> f<strong>in</strong>al movement is a dist<strong>in</strong>ctively<br />
local dance form. A typical format <strong>in</strong> Guadeloupe and Dom<strong>in</strong>ica is for <strong>the</strong><br />
first figure to be an <strong>in</strong>troductory march (like a promenade or Spanish <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
paseo) lead<strong>in</strong>g to a waltz; <strong>the</strong> subsequent figures, as guided by <strong>the</strong> commandeur,<br />
reta<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> traditional French designation of pantalon, été, poule, and<br />
pastorelle, with <strong>the</strong> f<strong>in</strong>al figure be<strong>in</strong>g a bigu<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> couple dance style. In Mart<strong>in</strong>ique,<br />
<strong>the</strong> haute-taille consists of three contredanses, two bigu<strong>in</strong>es, and, lastly,<br />
a mazouk or creole mazurka, and <strong>the</strong> pastourelle starts with three waltzes and<br />
<strong>the</strong>n segues to a mazouk and a polka. Jamaican quadrilles might <strong>in</strong>clude such<br />
European-derived dances as waltz, polka, schottische, and jig, as well as a local<br />
mento; dancers might comport <strong>the</strong>mselves ei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong> ballroom couple format or<br />
<strong>in</strong> longways style. In Haiti, <strong>the</strong> quadrille (kadri) is poorly documented, except<br />
as an <strong>in</strong>dependent couple dance with dist<strong>in</strong>ctive music.<br />
Perhaps because <strong>the</strong> quadrille (Spanish: cuadrilla) came relatively late to<br />
Spa<strong>in</strong>, it did not enjoy extensive or long-last<strong>in</strong>g popularity <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Spanish <strong>Caribbean</strong>.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> mid-1800s its presence, along with that of <strong>the</strong> waltz and polka,<br />
was noted <strong>in</strong> Cuba and Santo Dom<strong>in</strong>go, but it later disappeared <strong>in</strong> Cuba and<br />
barely survived <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Dom<strong>in</strong>ican Republic <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> twentieth century. Dom<strong>in</strong>ican<br />
folklorist Fradique Lizardo (1974: 65–72, 190) encountered a form of quadrille<br />
<strong>in</strong> three-movement suite form <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> early 1970s, but <strong>the</strong> dance has not<br />
been documented <strong>the</strong>re s<strong>in</strong>ce.<br />
<strong>Contradance</strong> and Quadrille as <strong>Caribbean</strong> Music<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> <strong>Contradance</strong>s<br />
If <strong>the</strong> terms contradance and quadrille derive from and primarily denote choreographic<br />
configurations, both entities have also flourished as dist<strong>in</strong>ctive sets<br />
of music genres, which played crucial roles <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> region’s music history. In <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong>, as <strong>in</strong> Europe, contradance and quadrille flourished <strong>in</strong> a variety of<br />
musical forms, from <strong>the</strong> simple, repeated ditty played by a Tr<strong>in</strong>idadian fiddler<br />
to <strong>the</strong> elegant, Chop<strong>in</strong>esque Puerto Rican piano danza of Manuel Tavárez.