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Zydeco
Daughter


Zydeco Lexicon


Bamboula
Zydeco
Waltz
vest frottoir

traditional Zydeco rhythm (i.e. Melinda song)
“The snap beans are not salted” (Afro-Louisiana proverb)
style of Zydeco dance based on, possibly in mockery of, European culture
percussive Zydeco instrument made from a washboard





“Zydeco is the traditional social music and dance of the Creoles, the Black people of southwest Louisiana, who may sing in French Creole, but dance and sing the spirit of Africa…” (87)



“When you go to the Zydeco to dance Zydeco to Zydeco music, remember the dance traditions of our African ancestors, including the Bakongo, where couple dancing existed ceremoniously and for social gatherings. The instrumentation in all percussive forms was made for joyous impromptu dances--men and women in lines opposite each other or moving as couples in a counterclockwise circle. The vest frottoir* is our reinvention of the knotted gourd rubbed with a stick used throughout Africa. Choose your
partner!” (97)


--Greer Mendy, Black Dance in Louisiana: Guardian of a Culture




symmetrical
complementary
grounded
break-cuing
smooth
hip-swaying
improvised 
bouncing?
Running on Cargo