Creolizing Contradance in the Caribbean

The contradance and quadrille, in their diverse forms, were the most popular, widespread, and important genres of creole Caribbean music and dance in the nineteenth century. Throughout the region they constituted sites for the interaction of musicians and musical elements of different racial, social, and ethnic origins, and they became crucibles for the evolution of genres like the Cuban danzón and son, the Dominican merengue, and the Haitian mereng.

Creolizing Contradance in the Caribbean is the first book to explore this phenomenon in detail and with a pan-regional perspective. Individual chapters by respected area experts discuss the Spanish-, French-, and English-speaking Caribbean. For each area, they cover the musical and choreographic features, social dynamics, and historical development and significance and consider them in relation to the broader Caribbean historical context. This groundbreaking text fills a significant gap in studies of social dance and Caribbean cultural history.