My talk to the Dancehall Conference, will be based on material from the above book to be published by UL Press this Fall 2016.
My presentation will begin where my dance hall life in Louisiana began in 1974, with the Blue Moon Cajun Dance Hall in New Iberia, which closed in 1978.
I will show photographs from that early period and discuss personal experiences. I will also touch upon other places where I have photographed during my four decade career in Louisiana. In most instances these places have closed or are long gone.
In the program, I will also present images from the closing night of Hamilton Club, a Creole establishment in Lafayette. And the grand reopening of La Pouissiere Dance Hall in Breaux Bridge.
The presentation will also include images of closed clubs. Photographs from the project blend the building’s architectural stature with a patina of decay, which can reveal a more profound sense of the buildings’ history and allure.
I will discuss the role of those dance halls still open today, point out the few that have obviously persevered and discuss why. I will also discuss the historic role of the dance hall as a social epicenter for communities and opine as to why such a role has faded. There is also the question of size to the times. The Southern Club for example is by today’s standards an uneconomical monstrosity. It could not survive in these times I feel because of its size.
The demise of the clubs is by no means a sign of the music’s fading popularity. Cajun and Zydeco, are more popular than ever. The venues have just changed. People see these groups at festivals, on trail rides, in modern, often smaller clubs. Interspersed with a presentation of dancehall images, I will read passages from folks who have written about personal experiences and remembrances for the book.
Then, questions.
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