Quadrille Dancing In The Caribbean

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents information about the Quadrille dance, and seven videos of that dance in various Caribbean nations.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

****
EDITOR'S NOTE ABOUT ADDING COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG
With considerable regret, I have disabled the comment feature on this blog (and on my other blogs except for https://pancocojams.blogspot.com, because of the large number of spam comments that I received on those blogs.

Comments for those blogs can be sent to my email address azizip17 dot com at yahoo dot com for possible inclusion in a specific post on those blogs.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE QUADRILLE
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrille
"Quadrille is a historic dance performed by four couples in a rectangular formation, and a precursor to traditional square dancing. It is also a style of music...

The term quadrille came to exist in the 17th century, within military parades, in which four horsemen and their mounts performed special square-shaped formations or figures. The word quadrille is probably derived from the Spanish word cuadrillo (Spanish diminutive of cuadro, meaning small square from Latin quadrus, quadra, quadratus meaning square, block or square section, squared or square-shaped, respectively...

This performance became very popular, which led people to perform a quadrille without horses. In the 18th Century (estimated around 1740) the quadrille evolved more and more in an intricate dance, with its foundation in dances like cotillions. It was introduced in France around 1760, and later in England around 1808 by a woman known as Miss Berry. It was introduced to the Duke of Devonshire and made fashionable by 1813. In the following years it was taught to the upper classes, and around 1816 many people could dance a quadrille."
-snip-
Click this link for a video of one style of Quadrille dancing in Europe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JPrMGiGJdo

****
FEATURED VIDEOS
(These videos are presented in chronological order based on the date of their YouTube posting, with the oldest dated videos posted first. The Caribbean nation from which the dancers come is given in parenthesis after the video's title.)

Example #1: Quadrille Dancing in Choiseul, St. Lucia (St. Lucia)



Uploaded by TameronEaton on Mar 6, 2008

This video shows traditional St. Lucia Quadrille dancing performed by the Dugard Primary students at the 2008 Choiseul Village Council swearing in ceremony. The students are wearing the St. Lucia flag colors rather than the traditional red plaid outfits known at madras.

****
Example #2: Quadrille Dancers 14th June 2008 (Dominica)



UniquelyDominican, Uploaded on Jun 15, 2008

http://dominican-diaspora.com - Dominica Oversea Nationals Association (DONA) -Quadrille Dancers

****
Example #3: Free Style Quadrille St. Croix, U. S.. Virgin Islands. (United States Virgin Islands)



d1spoonky, Uploaded on Mar 17, 2011

The Dancers went and got people from the audience to participate in the Quadrille dancing @ the Agricultural Fair 2011

****
Example #4 Parade de Quadrille au Lamentin (Guadeloupe)



Mrclarisma, Uploaded on Jun 21, 2011

Le Quadrille guadeloupéen ; au travers de notre histoire et de nos activités artistiques, nous mettons en avant le patrimoine cultutrel de la guadeloupe.

****
Example #5: Quadrille Guadeloupéen. La boulangère Dansée par DYNAMIQUE CLUB (Guadeloupe)



Mrclarisma, Uploaded on Sep 19, 2011

L'Association Dynamique Cub perpétue la tradition dans le domaine artistique et culturel Guadeloupéen.

****
Example #6: Haute-Taille, quadrille de la Martinique.avi (Martinique)



tchaykorossol, Uploaded on Jan 2, 2012

[This video's lengthy summary statement is in French]

****
Example #7: We Deh Ya Cultural Dancers (United States Virgin Islands)


EyesbyJe1, Published on Apr 29, 2012

"We Deh Ya" Cultural Dancers performing at the St. Thomas' 2012 Food Fair celebrating 60 years of Carnival [Virgin Islands]

****
RELATED LINKS

Click this link for a video of quadrille dancing in Jamaica: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA5oGKbKbPQ.

****
Click this page of my cultural website for other videos of Caribbean folk dances:
http://cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-dances

****
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to all those featured in these videos. Thanks to those who choreographed these dances and those who provided information about this dance. My thanks also to the producers of these videos and their publishers on YouTube.

Thanks for visiting zumalayah.

Zumalayah showcases videos of dances & singing games done in circles or in lines, and other movement performance arts from African American culture, from African cultures, and from other cultures of the African Diaspora.

Visitor comments are welcome.