Cajun and Zydeco Dance Music in Northern California

Cajun and Zydeco Dance Music in Northern California PDF

Author: Mark F. DeWitt

Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi

Published: 2010-02-17

Total Pages: 489

ISBN-13: 1628467754

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Queen Ida, Danny Poullard, documentary filmmaker Les Blank, Chris Strachwitz, and Arhoolie Records. These are names that are familiar to many fans of Cajun music and zydeco, and they have one other thing in common—-longtime residence in the San Francisco Bay Area. They are all part of a vibrant scene of dancing and live Louisiana-French music that has evolved over several decades. Cajun and Zydeco Dance Music in Northern California traces how this region of California has been able to develop and sustain dances several times a week with more than a dozen bands. Description of this active regional scene opens into a discussion of several historical trends that have affected life and music in Louisiana and the nation. The book portrays the diversity of people who have come together to adopt Cajun and Creole dance music as a way to cope with a globalized, media-saturated world. Ethnomusicologist Mark F. DeWitt innovatively weaves together interviews with musicians and dancers (some from Louisiana, some not), analysis of popular media, participant observation as a musician and dancer, and historical perspectives from wartime black migration patterns, the civil rights movement, American folk and blues revivals, California counterculture, and the rise of cultural tourism in “Cajun Country.” In so doing, he reveals the multifaceted appeal of celebrating life on the dance floor, Louisiana-French style.

Cajun Country Guide

Cajun Country Guide PDF

Author: Macon Fry

Publisher: Pelican Publishing

Published: 1999-02-28

Total Pages: 476

ISBN-13: 9781455601752

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There's just nowhere else but South Louisiana to find real knee-slapping, crowd-hooting Zydeco music. Even the big-city chefs can't cook up a Cajun meal the way they do at the roadside restaurants deep in the bayous of Acadiana. Likewise, no other guide matches the amount of in-depth information presented in Cajun Country Guide. It's a study of Cajuns that tells visitors how to find the sights, sounds, and flavors of one of America's most culturally unique regions. Take a vacation to a part of our own country that, in some places, didn't even speak English until nearly fifty years ago. While modern technology is weeding out some of the one-of-a-kind qualities of this subculture, not all of them are gone, or even hard to find, if you know how to hunt for them. And there are no better hunters than authors Macon Fry and Julie Posner. With the handy maps, reviews, and recommendations packed into the Cajun Country Guide, a trip to the bayous won't leave one feeling like a visitor, but more like a native who has come back home.

Cajun Breakdown

Cajun Breakdown PDF

Author: Ryan A. Brasseaux

Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand

Published: 2009-06-04

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0195343069

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Social music -- Early commercial era -- A heterogeneous tradition -- Becoming the folk -- Cajun swing era -- The modern Cajun sound -- Cajun national anthem -- A new mental world.

Dancing Away an Anxious Mind

Dancing Away an Anxious Mind PDF

Author: Robert Rand

Publisher: Terrace Books

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 9780299201609

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"In this memoir, Robert Rand tells the tale of how social dancing freed him from the grip of panic disorder. Rand was a serious man, a scholarly, shy and intense perfectionist who achieved national recognition in his career. He was a senior editor on the staff of National Public Radio's All Things Considered when, in the midst of his success, panic attacks overwhelmed him. For more than two years, he suffered debilitating effects; the disease flattened his spirits and entirely stripped him of self-confidence. He crawled through his days, barely getting by." "Then Rand discovered social dancing, in particular Cajun and zydeco dance and music. Dancing became a cathartic and liberating endeavor, helping him beat back his panic disorder to gain control of his life. Rand found on the dance floor a new compelling world where absolute strangers physically embrace; a world where that embrace can turn volatile when the strangers are of different races; a romantic and passionate world, for dancing is how Rand met his wife."--Jacket.

Dance a While

Dance a While PDF

Author: Anne M. Pittman

Publisher: Waveland Press

Published: 2015-04-21

Total Pages: 602

ISBN-13: 1478629517

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The Tenth Edition of Dance a While continues the 65-year legacy of a textbook that has proven to be the standard of all recreational dance resources. The authors have poured decades of experience and knowledge onto its pages, providing a wealth of direction on American, square, contra, international, and social dance. Each chapter is packed with expertly written instruction, coupled with clear and detailed diagrams and informative history, to provide students with well-rounded training on over 260 individual dances. The book also contains a music CD to allow for convenience when practicing outside of the classroom, helping to make it an invaluable resource for students of dance at all levels.

Ghosts of Good Times

Ghosts of Good Times PDF

Author:

Publisher: University of Louisiana

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781935754855

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Ghosts of Good Times: South Louisiana Dance Halls Past and Present examines a world of Cajun dance halls, Zydeco clubs, Chitlin' Circuit R&B night clubs, Swamp-Pop Honkytonks and other venues that at one time were prevalent throughout the region. Photographs by Philip Gould blend architectural imagery of buildings still standing with historic photographs of the clubs that he took in their heyday. Herman Fuselier and other writers provide a rich selection of historic accounts and essays about their personal experiences in the clubs. The book also examines the dance hall scene today and how the venues have changed. The music following remains strong and people still come to dance. The surviving old dance halls and newer venues are still in full swing. Old or new, they are icons, a proud south Louisiana legacy of Good Times.

Ballroom, Boogie, Shimmy Sham, Shake

Ballroom, Boogie, Shimmy Sham, Shake PDF

Author: Julie Malnig

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 2023-01-10

Total Pages: 394

ISBN-13: 0252055144

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This dynamic collection documents the rich and varied history of social dance and the multiple styles it has generated, while drawing on some of the most current forms of critical and theoretical inquiry. The essays cover different historical periods and styles; encompass regional influences from North and South America, Britain, Europe, and Africa; and emphasize a variety of methodological approaches, including ethnography, anthropology, gender studies, and critical race theory. While social dance is defined primarily as dance performed by the public in ballrooms, clubs, dance halls, and other meeting spots, contributors also examine social dance’s symbiotic relationship with popular, theatrical stage dance forms. Contributors are Elizabeth Aldrich, Barbara Cohen-Stratyner, Yvonne Daniel, Sherril Dodds, Lisa Doolittle, David F. García, Nadine George-Graves, Jurretta Jordan Heckscher, Constance Valis Hill, Karen W. Hubbard, Tim Lawrence, Julie Malnig, Carol Martin, Juliet McMains, Terry Monaghan, Halifu Osumare, Sally R. Sommer, May Gwin Waggoner, Tim Wall, and Christina Zanfagna.

Cajun Foodways

Cajun Foodways PDF

Author: C. Paige Gutierrez

Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi

Published: 2009-12-01

Total Pages: 175

ISBN-13: 1628467770

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Cajun food has become a popular “ethnic” food throughout America during the last decade. This fascinating book explores the significance of Cajun cookery on its home turf in south Louisiana, a region marked by startling juxtapositions of the new and the old, the nationally standard and the locally unique. Neither a cookbook nor a restaurant guide, Cajun Foodways gives interpretation to the meaning of traditional Cajun food from the perspective of folklife studies and cultural anthropology. The author takes into account the modern regional popular culture in examining traditional foodways of the Cajuns. Cajuns' attention to their own traditional foodways is more than merely nostalgia or a clever marketing ploy to lure tourists and sell local products. The symbolic power of Cajun food is deeply rooted in Cajuns' ethnic identity, especially their attachments to their natural environment and their love of being with people. Foodways are an effective symbol for what it means to be a Cajun today. The reader interested in food and in cooking will find much appeal in this book, for it illustrates a new way to think about how and why people eat as they do.