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Frequently Asked Questions
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About Allons Danser
 Who runs Allons Danser events, and how did they get started?
Several local Cajun/Zydeco fans started organizing Zydeco dances in the Philadelphia area in 1989. Pictured (L to R) is the current group whose efforts make Allons Danser happen: Kathleen Pearle, who's one of the group's founders, with Donna Stasiorowski, Ginny Disque, and Fran Berbette.
Question: How can I learn Zydeco dancing?
Each Allons Danser event begins with a Zydeco beginner lesson from dance instructor Marv Resnick. Starting at 7:30 p.m., the one-hour lesson will teach you the basics of Zydeco and, time permitting, an introduction to Cajun Waltz, the two styles most frequently played by the bands who perform at our dances. The lesson is included in the price of admission.
Marv Resnick dancing with wife Karen |
Marv's lesson has an overall goal of enabling students to be able to do the complete Zydeco dance by the end of the lesson, so they can enjoy dancing to the band that evening. The complete Zydeco dance consists of the basic step, the closed position, and the open position.
The basic step is taught in a more authentic Creole style than is normally seen outside Louisiana. It is sometimes difficult for beginners to master the open position in an introductory lesson. To overcome this, a "simplified" open position is taught, as well as the regular open position. The lesson is fun, and concludes with a "graduation" dance. Students are then given a handout that contains Zydeco websites, recommended dance videos, and reminders/tips from the dance lesson. Non-beginners can also benefit from parts of the lesson if they desire to learn a more authentic style in the basic step and the rockback, and a good tip on how to lead/follow in the closed position.
| About Marv Resnick: Marv started dancing as a teenager, and became accomplished at what is now called swing. At 17, he became a "regular" on Allen Freed's "Big Beat" TV show, which was very similar to Dick Clark's American Bandstand. During the year he was on the show, he won all four of the dance contests. After taking a 25-year hiatus from dancing while pursuing a career and raising a family, he discovered Cajun and then Zydeco dancing. Zydeco dancing is now his passion. In his desire to become proficient at the more authentic styles of the dance, he has made trips to Louisiana and has danced with and taken lessons from many Creole dancers. |
About Cajun/Zydeco Music & Dance
How did Cajun and Zydeco music develop?
The French-speaking Acadians, having migrated to Louisiana after being expelled by the British from Canada's maritime provinces beginning in the 1750s, brought with them music that had its origins in France. Early balladeers would sing without accompaniment at family gatherings or special occasions. The fiddle often supplied music for dancing. The accordion was incorporated in the 1920s with the introduction of accordions tuned in C and D, matching the "open string" tuning of the fiddlers. The combination produced a sound that carried well during noisy dances. Creoles, the African American descendants of slaves, were developing their own music, and the music of the two cultures influenced one another. Like the Cajuns, the Creoles had house dances, clearing out all the furniture and bringing in musicians who would play until early in the morning. Washboards played with spoons or bottle openers and triangles provided rhythm. In the 1950s rock 'n' roll emerged, and Louisiana musicians with Cajun roots began to adapt, producing their own style of what came to be known later as swamp pop. Zydeco is the most contemporary expression of Creole music. Born out of a style called "lala", it is a unique form of Black-Creole music native to Southwest Louisiana. Zydeco bands are characterized by the use of the accordion and "frottoir" (rubboard), electric guitar, and the singing of rhythm, blues and soul in Creole French.
What's the difference between Cajun and Zydeco music?
Until the end of World War II, there was little difference between Cajun and its close musical cousin, zydeco. Although some refer to Cajun as the domain of white descendants of the Canadian exiles and Zydeco as that of French-speaking black Creoles, it was an African-American accordion virtuoso named Amedee Ardoin who pioneered the sound we recognize today as Cajun music. Ardoin's 1930s music with fiddler Dennis McGee has a rhythm similar to that of Boozoo Chavis' Zydeco recordings from the 1950s. The traditional Cajun sound uses just fiddle, accordion, guitar and triangle. Two-steps and waltzes are the main song styles. Zydeco is distinguished from Cajun by faster, chugging rhythms, the use of a frottoir as a percussion instrument, lack of a fiddle, and a strong rhythm-and-blues influence. Because Zydeco is open to outside influences, many of today's Zydeco bands perform rock and R&B-oriented music with the accordion as the lead instrument.
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