Affranchi (dance)

This article is about the Haitian folk dance. For the mulatto social class in Haiti, see Affranchi.

The Affranchi is a traditional cultural dance that originated in Saint-Domingue, the modern day Haiti.[1]

Etymology and characteristics

The word Affranchi, was used to describe people that were descendants of a European and an African slave in colonial times in Haiti.[1] The dance involved a series of straight-backed, held-torso, French style figures and then African-styled improvisation on the final set[1] much like the tumba francesa that later emerged in Cuba by Haitian refugees escaping the Haitian Revolution, but was performed to the string and woodwind instruments, instead of the drums.[2]

History

Europeans in Saint-Domingue delighted in the affranchi entertainment. Both Europeans and Affranchis performed the varied line and square configurations and often made slaves dance to entertain colonial guests. Affranchi practices spread throughout Haiti and was accompanied by African-descended Kings and Queens. This highly regarded performance style and regal association was also taken to Cuba, Puerto Rico, the United States and to the rest of the disapora in the late eighteenth century.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Caribbean and Atlantic Diaspora Dance: Igniting Citizenship". Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  2. ↑ Daniel, Yvonne. "Dancing Wisdom: Embodied Knowledge in Haitian Vodou, Cuban Yoruba, and Bahian Candombié". p. 122. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
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