The Caribbean Quadrille

The Caribbean Quadrille – an article by Caroline Muraldo, BA (Hon) MA

There is a group of over 70 islands situated between North and South American which is not only the smallest area populated with such a vast number of diverse cultures, but also has an equally rich and diverse dance tradition. These islands are collectively called ‘The Caribbean’, after one of the two original peoples who inhabited the islands, the Caribs. (The others were the Arawaks).

Christopher Columbus is of course traditionally credited with discovering these islands in 1492, during his efforts to take a different route to India. As a result he named the islands the ‘West Indies’, as he initially thought he had achieved his aim, only to discover that the inhabitants, who were descendants from the Amazonian Indian, merely had a resemblance to the people of India. Columbus did, however, establish a link between the Europe and these tropical islands that would result in the creation of new cultures. Unfortunately, these new cultures would have little influence from the indigenous population as the Caribs and the Arawaks were almost completely annihilated within a century of Columbus’ arrival.

The African peoples who were brought to the islands as slaves, belonged to a wide variety of cultures, for example Ibo, Yoruba, Conga, Cromanti, and subcultures, derived mainly from west and central Africa. In
a bid to keep control, the enslaved Africans were separated from the members of their families and tribes. Initially, Caribbean dance and music was used as a means of communication between peoples whose
native tongues were as different from one another as their captors.

The cultures of different tribes began to merge as the members of different tribes integrated. The Arawaks were initially involved in this process, and Africans who escaped from plantations integrated with the Caribs
who were never enslaved by the Europeans. Prior to the arrival of the Africans, intermarriage between the Arawaks and the Spaniards, the first major colonists, was actively encouraged. Here lie the beginnings of the Caribbean ‘creolisation’ process, which involved the whole culture, language, customs, religion, food, music and dance.

By the end of the eighteenth century, African slavery had spread to every Caribbean island that could be captured and colonised by the Northern Europeans, who consisted of the English, French, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, and Danish.

Following emancipation, during the second half of the century, the sugar growers had to search for labour from outside the Caribbean, in an attempt to maintain wages at a low level and to ensure a steady labour supply. An influx of labour was found in other countries including China, Madera, East India and Java.

The creolisation process was also aided by the constant migration of both the Europeans and the Africans within the Caribbean islands. The planters often moved from one island to another in search of richer soils, cheaper labour or in the wake of slave uprisings. When plantations were taken over by new owners for example the indentured servants (who were usually Irish, a further cultural influence) yeoman farmers, and poor whites generally, were forced to move elsewhere. Where white settles were not succeeding on an island, they would move on. The slaves were moved between islands involuntarily by plantation owners or to elude capture as runaways. Colonial administrators, schools and churches also shunted personnel form territory to territory. The traffic in various goods involved merchants and mariners of many races. Out of this melting pot of cultures the Caribbean culture emerged.

As the cultures of Africa and European contrast in so many ways and were the main influences on Caribbean culture, the creolisation process resulted in Caribbean culture existing on a continuum, the influence of each
continent residing at opposite ends. At the centre dwell the parts of Caribbean culture, which can be attributed to nowhere else but the Caribbean.

One of the many dances, which developed within the Caribbean’s rich dance heritage, was the Quadrille, which belongs to the European end of the Caribbean cultural continuum. The name is derived form the Italian
term Quadriglia that refers to a troop or company of horsemen who form a square when taking part in a tournament. The dance originated in the French royal courts, and developed during Napoleon’s reign into a contradanse with several complicated figures. The dance was particularly popular throughout Europe during the first part of the nineteenth century.

Reflecting the general social division of Europe, The Quadrille existed in two versions, one danced by the nobles and other belonging to peasantry. The court dances of Europe emphasised etiquette, manners and formality, while the peasants version emphasised solidarity and togetherness. The former version was more concerned with visual effect and social appreciation rather than enjoyment. In contrast the latter version
regarded enjoyment to be of paramount importance.

Two distinctive styles of a similar vein also developed in Jamaica, the “Camp Style” and the “Ballroom Style”, which in contrast to the European Quadrille were incorporated into one dance. The Ballroom Style incorporate the stance, airs and graces seen in the dance of the gentry while the latter style, developed by the field workers was much freer, expressing their own movement style preferences.

The main differences between these styles can be summed up as follows: –

House servants therefore watched and copied the Quadrille frequently as it was danced at all social occasion, e.g. weddings, balls, and banquets. The field workers in turn copied the house servants. Initially, the enslaved servants used the dance to mimic and ridicule the Europeans.

New forms of Quadrille developed on at least 12 different Caribbean islands becoming part of the slave’s social life, and the dance began to be performed their own local gatherings, celebrations and holidays.

As with many other Caribbean dances, many variations exist according to the particular area or island the particular tradition comes from. Isolated areas will naturally develop their own style of execution and variations in vocabulary, while the particular European culture, which had the strongest influence would have had some impact on the development of the characteristic features. In general, the Quadrille of the French speaking islands display much more intricate footwork and floor patterns than the English speaking areas or islands.

The European Quadrille consists of five sections as can the Caribbean Quadrille however this varies from island to island, for example the Quadrille of Dominican has only four figures. The European tradition refers to each section by name i.e. Le Pantelon (from old French air), L’ete (summer), La Poule (the hen), Trenis (named after the person who choreographed it) and The finale (or gallop), while the Caribbean tradition refers to each figure only by number.

The dance vocabulary can be broken down into movement motifs, which can be as small as two movements. Each motif is identifiable by name, if we take steps as an example from Jamaican Quadrilles e.g. Long or Short Balance, Whaltz Wheel, Maypole, Spinning Jenny etc. The vocabulary has developed to range from simple, stable, slow movements to exceedingly fast spins and turns thereby including movement to suit all ages and abilities.

The use of floor patterns, which is one of the main characteristics of Quadrille, is similar to the European tradition, they are evenly distributed over the dance area and are balanced in each direction.

In terms of costume, there are as many versions of Caribbean Quadrille costume as there are variations of the dance, for the same reasons. The style of the costume is however usually generally based on the styles of the nineteenth century when the dance began to develop.

Similarly, the instruments used to play Quadrille music based on the instruments that were available at the time of conception. Again the choice of instruments used will be determined by where the tradition is being danced. For example in Jamaica you may find that the instruments will consist of a drum, fiddle, fork,
fife, pieces of iron, Marimba, grater and a Rumba box, while in Dominica the Quadrille musicians will play a Boom-Boom (a type of wooden flute, Gwage (a type of scraper) Tambal (a type of tambourine) and Accordion.

While the music controls the dance vocabulary, as each sequence is set to a specific sequence of music (each with its own name e.g. Mento, Shatisse Polka etc), the dancers dictate the tempo.

Today the Quadrille is danced in the Caribbean as part of national celebrations, competitions or festivals. In England, the Quadrille is not widely practised, but there is a small number of community groups who come
together for the sheer pleasure of dancing the Quadrille. These groups may even occasionally perform on special occasions or for elder groups, allowing the opportunity for the elders to reminisce back to their childhood when they would have sneaked downstairs to watch their parents dancing Quadrille with their friends.

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