Grove Music Online

Cajun dance
Claude Conyers

https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2092370
Published in print: 26 November 2013
Published online: 23 February 2011

The social dances of descendants of French Acadians who settled in

southwest Louisiana after being expelled from the Canadian
Maritimes by the British in 1755. The Acadians, later called Cajuns,
brought their traditional French music with them and then absorbed
influences from Creole residents of African descent and from the
country-western and swing music of their Texas neighbors. Cajun
music is similar to, but distinct from, Creole music and its offshoots
such as Zydeco. Typically, Cajun music has always been played for
dancing, not just for listening, and has characteristically featured
the sound of the accordion, along with the fiddle, triangle, and, in
modern times, guitar, bass, and drums.

Cajun dances consist primarily of lively two-steps and lyrical waltzes,

although the Cajun jig and the Cajun jitterbug are also popular. Two-
steps are danced to either an 8-count or a 6-count pattern, both
traveling around the floor in the line of dance. The 6-count two-step,
or Mamou two-step, is the same as the country-western two-step.
(Mamou is a little town that claims to be “the Cajun music capital of
the world.”) Popular Cajun tunes include many composed by famed
accordionist and singer Amédé Ardoin (1898–1941), including “Two-
Step d’Amédé,” “La Valse de Amitiés,” and “Les Blues de la Prison.”
Other favorite two-step tunes include “Don’t Mess with My Toute-
Tout” and “Tes Parents Ne Veulent Plus Me Voir.” The Cajun or
zydeco waltz is a simple, progressive waltz made up of easy steps
that travel in the line of dance. The Cajun jig is more complicated, as
it includes such various moves as the sweetheart sequence, windmill
sequence, hand over head, and various pivots, bends, and turns. The
traditional Cajun jitterbug features a “hobble step” and a variety of
underarm turns, as in country-western swing dancing. The Mamou
jitterbug is basically an adaptation of single-rhythm swing dancing
and is performed in the center of the dance floor, leaving the
perimeter open for use by traveling dancers.

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 Bibliography
J. Broven: South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun
Bayous (Gretna, LA, 1983)

B.J. Ancelet: Cajun Music: Its Origins and Development

(Lafayette, LA, 1989)

R.E. François: Yé Yaille, Chère!: Traditional Cajun Dance

Music (Lafayette, LA, 1990)

O. Platter, C. and R. Spreyer: Cajun Dancing (Gretna, LA,

1993)

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