Dancing is an integral part of the culture of the Louisiana French people. Among the Cajuns and Creoles, where there is music, there is dancing. The changes in the dancing of the Louisiana French people have paralleled the changes in the culture and society as a whole. And, there are differing degrees of change between the Cajuns and Creoles. These changes may be in the dances themselves, the setting where the dancing is done, or in the etiquette surrounding the dance. No ethnography of the Cajuns and Creoles is complete without discussing the dancing.

Some brief explanations of terms used and notes on the history of the dance is needed before discussing the specifics of Cajun and Creole dancing. The vast majority of Cajuns and Creoles don't give names to the dances they do; they just call them "French dancing." The "outsiders" have labeled the dances to distinguished between different steps and styles. The terms used in this article, however, are the most commonly used, and would be understood by local dancers.

The dancing of the Creoles has remained much the same over the generations, with only a couple of changes that have come about and a few that are currently evolving.

Based on information from several octogenarians, a once common dance, the Bes Bas ("dip low"), has all but died out. This very European-looking dance was done less and less often as the Americans moved in with the oil fields, railroads, and highways. Until very recently, this was the only major change in the dance repertoire itself, probably because the Creoles are such a tight-knit, isolated culture. Creoles still hold many folk beliefs (treating, superstitions, etc.), many young Creoles still speak Creole French and dance the French dances. Few tourists or "outsiders" attended Creole dances, so Creole dances had little or no outside influence. This may not be true for many more years, however, with growing media coverage of Zydeco music and events from the "Cajun fad" that is rapidly spreading across the country. The changes now happening are probably because of this and to the increasing exposure of the Creoles to American culture.

Until the late 1980s, the annual Zydeco festival in Plaisance had no Whites and only one or two members of the local media. Then, in 1989, very, very few Creoles danced. Was it the heat or the large number of tourists crowding in front of the stage? During the weekend of the Acadian Music Festival in 1990, tourists flooded the Zydeco clubs, all doing the Jitterbug-style dance, not the Creole Two-step. If this influx of tourists continues, the Creole dancing will undoubtedly be affected.

The Creoles themselves have brought in what they call the Zydeco Shuffle, danced to the song "Harlem Shuffle" by the Rolling Stones. This shuffle is a group dance reminiscent of Saturday Night Fever disco dances. Over the past two years, this dance has been played at every dance, much like Cotton-Eyed Joe at Texas country western dances. According to musicians, however, as of the summer of 1991, the popularity of this dance is waning.

Until the 1980s, Creoles held most of their dances at home, in church, at clubs or lodge halls, or at trail rides. Creoles are now dancing more in clubs. The clubs aren't the typical clubs open every night to make a profit from liquor sales; the Creole dance clubs are open weekends only, or rented for special occasions, and they make their money from people paying to hear a band and dance. The club owners know exactly what bands to hire when more money needs to be made.

Another change has taken place over the past five years, resulting in the loss of traditional etiquette on the dance floor. Creole men used to ask a woman to dance if she was alone, or ask the man she was with for permission to dance with his woman. He would then walk her to the dance floor and return her to her seat and thank her. He commonly would ask a lone woman if she had a man or where he was. (Was this a lead-in to a proposition or just polite conversation?) At one club outside of Opelousas, where there is an older crowd, this custom is still observed. Here, the younger men, in their 20s and 30s, that compromise the majority of the clientele don't ask the women to dance. They just stick out their hands, and rarely do they escort the women back to their seats. There also are more attempts to "pick up women" at these clubs. This doesn't happen at the church or house dances. At the clubs, the women seem to be guarded against certain men and also protective of each other. There are some men that almost every woman refuses. And the women will "rescue" another woman that is being harassed by a persistent man.

An interesting fact about Creole dancing is that no one teaches it. It is always learned by watching as a child and dancing with adults.

The dancing of the Cajuns has undergone many changes over the years.

The Cajun Mazurka and Handkerchief Polka, like the Creole Bes Bas, have disappeared. The Contradanse that is done at performances today has been choreographed by someone who never actually saw it done but had heard of it from an older relative. It may or may not be authentic. The disappearance of these European-looking dances may be seen as an indication of the degree of influence and/or assimilation into the American culture.

The dances that are still being done were heavily influenced by the American Swing brought in by soldiers after World War II, as well as by country western dance. This was a time of strong American pride and shame of things Cajun. People weren't allowed to speak Cajun French in public, and the music became "country-Cajun." This heavy country influence is still seen in the styles of some Two-steps and Waltzes.

The newer Cajun Jitterbug came about through increased exposure (through movies, music, immigrants into Acadiana with the oil boom) and assimilation into American culture. Even today, the popularity of this style has not spread to the smaller, more rural towns that are still unaffected by the coming and going of the oil businesses and their employees. In fact, many traditional dancers are very emphatic about "this is not Cajun dancing!" There are dance troupes that will not do the Jitterbug style, and make it a point to explain that the Jitterbug style is not real Cajun dance.

The limping, Jitterbug style began to show up at the same time as Disco couple dances were sweeping the country. Many of the moves are the same. This style has "caught on like wildfire" and has been misrepresented as Cajun dancing. Will this fade away as did Disco, or will this become "traditional?" Only time will tell.

There are many stories about how and where this style was born. One story says that a Cajun dance teacher could not do the traditional step so just limped to the beat. This very simple footwork fit perfectly with Disco moves. Another story tells about the Baton Rouge folk dancers who had a Scandinavian workship/performance in the middle of 1970s. Supposedly, the local people were very impressed with the intricate arm movements, so they incorporated them into their Cajun dancing. (It is true that almost all of the movements in the Jitterbug are found in traditional German and Scandinavian dances.) And then, there is this humorous version of the style's origin. A soldier back from Vietnam had a broken leg and couldn't dance. But it's impossible to "sit" to Cajun music, so he held his partner's hands and balanced on his cast while swaying back and forth. The other locals thought this looked like fun, and proceeded to imitate the soldier's movements. Ever since then, this style has been done in the Lafayette area. The true origins of the Jitterbug style remain a mystery, though there are several people that claim to be the originator.

The settings for Cajun dances are different from those for Creole dances. Cajuns dance mostly at restaurants, clubs, and festivals. They don't have weekly trail rides and rarely hold church or club dances. The Cajun French Music Association does periodically sponsor dances in various towns. Also, there are many festivals that either highlight Cajun music or have it as the entertainment. Ever since Cajun has become such a fad, the festivals draw hundreds, sometimes thousands of tourists.

Unlike at Creole dances, there are always tourists at Cajun dance establishments. One restaurant books over 500 tour buses a year! In most places (except for tiny isolated towns), there are almost always more "outsiders" dancing than there are true Cajuns. Many of the Cajuns feel that the influence of tourists and other "outsiders" is "watering down" their culture. There is great fear of over-commercialization of things Cajun. Other people (some of whom are Cajuns) are cashing in on the fad. There are even some Cajun dance teachers who have gone so far as to sue other teachers or formeer students for teaching Cajun dance!

Teaching Cajun dance pays well and there are teachers all over the country. An interesting fact about the teachers: only a few, those not from Louisiana, teach the Creole/Zydeco style of dance. Cajun dance teachers in Louisiana don't do the style and dont attend the dances, just as the Cajuns don't attend Creole dances and vise versa. Another fact about the "outside" teachers in general is that they, not the local teachers, are those most interested in preserving the traditional styles. Many dance and nothing more.

In Acadiana