In French Caribbean culture, especially of the
Lesser Antilles, the term
kwadril is a Creole term referring to a folk dance derived from the
quadrille.
Saint Lucia quadrille
On the island of
Saint Lucia, kwadrils are social occasions held in private homes; Lucian kwadrils were formerly viewed as old-fashioned, but are increasingly being adopted as a symbol of Lucian culture. These
kwadrils are very formalized, and are accompanied by a cuatro, rattle,
Shak-shak,
violin,
banjo and bones (zo).
It consists of five separate dances: the pwémyé fidji, dézyèm fidji, twazyèm fidji, katwiyèm fidji (also avantwa or lanmen dwèt) and gwan won (also grande rond). The musicians may also use a lakonmèt (mazurka), schottische or polka; the lakonmèt, also called the mazouk, is especially popular and is the only closed couple dance which originated in Saint Lucia.
Dominica quadrille
The Dominican quadrille generally has four different figures, the
pastouwèl,
lapoul,
lété and
latrinitez. Some regions of
Dominica, such as
Petite Savanne, are home to local variants such as the
caristo. Many quadrilles are found across Dominica under a wide variety of names. In addition to the standard quadrille, the
Les Lanciers is also an important Dominican dance.
Accompaniment for the quadrille is provided by a four instrument ensemble called a jing ping band.
Guadeloupe balakadri
Balakadri (called balkadri or kadri) is a traditional
quadrille music that was performed for balls on the
Caribbean Sea island of
Guadeloupe. Kwadril dances are in sets consisting of proper quadrilles, plus creolized versions of 19th-century couple dances:
,
mazurka and valses Créoles.
Instrumentation consists of variable combinations of accordion, guitar, violin, tanbou dibas, chacha (either a single metal cylinder as in Martinique, or a spherical calabash without a handle, held in both hands), malakach (maracas), triangle, bwa (tibwa) and syak, a bamboo rasp one metre long, grooved on both top and bottom, held with one end on the belly and the other on a door or wall and scraped with both hands. A konmandé completes the ensemble.
See also
-
Music of Dominica
-
Music of Guadeloupe
-
Music of Martinique
-
Music of Saint Lucia
