The kontredans is a series of Seychellois dances that are performed to a predefined sequence of figures prompted by a caller. It was introduced to the Seychelles from France through the Réunion Island and was adapted and creolised to become authentically Seychellois.
I have been lucky, growing up on Praslin Island, to have been able to partake in many kontredans (Fr. contredance) sessions. At times we would walk from Grand’Anse to Côte D’Or, through La Plaine Hollandaise in the middle of the night, armed with only a stick to keep away the dogs, to go and dance the kanmtole at Ma Belle Amie Bar at Côte d’Or.
I have dug into these experiences and did some extra research in order to gather enough content to write the following posts on the kontredans. The booklet ‘Lanmisik ek Ladans Traditionnel Seselwa- Ladans Salon / Kanmtole’ has also greatly assisted me in preparing this post and the other two next ones. Any contribution that would assist in correcting or making these posts more complete will be greatly appreciated.
What is the kontredans?
The kontredans is defined as ‘the repeated execution of a predefined sequence of figures, carefully designed to fit a fixed length of music, performed by a group of people, usually in couples’. The figures involve interaction with your partner and/or with other dancers. Dance figures are groups of steps which have a name. For example , in kontredans, ‘la chaine des dames’ is a figure.
The kontredans is a series of elegant, bright and rythmic dances that were played during the kanmtole and are now, unfortunately, played only during the festivals and at special occasions. As discussed in a previous post, the kanmtole is a body of music and dances that is split under three categories, and these are the kontredans; the ladans senp’ (Fr. dance simple) or simple dances; and the sega.
Kontredans is a social dance.
Kontredans is a social dance and a partner is always required. The dancers form couples with the lady, or danm (Fr. dame) always located on the right-hand side of the gentleman or Kavalye (Fr. cavalier). The couples then form sets of two couples in two long lines facing each other. Unless explicitly labeled otherwise, kontredans events are open to all, regardless of experience. They are family friendly.
Origin of Kontredans
Kontredans derives from the French word ‘contredances’ that was an adaptation of the ‘country dance’, that appeared in England in the middle of the 16th century, at the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth I. The inhabitants of the countryside used to dance these typical English dances in front of her during her visits.
To dance the country dance then, the dancers were generally placed on two opposite lines in a “longway” or sometimes in a circle. The peculiarity of the dance was the movement of the dancers with small, fast and light steps without particular difficulty. It was danced as a couple with your partner or with the opposite partner. There were changes of direction in order to constitute more or less elaborate figures. Generally, the couples moved by progressing: they “go down” or “go up” between the two rows of dancers. When each couple, having progressed, had regained their original place, the dance was considered to have ended.
The repertoire of the country dance grew very quickly. In fact when the collector and printer John PLAYFORD (1623-1686) published, in 1651, a work entitled ‘The English Dancing Master’, he identified 105 ways of dancing the Country Dance.
The country dance was introduced into France
The English country dance was introduced into France by French dance masters during the Regency (1715-23) of Philippe d’Orléans after the death of Louis XIV. The French called these dances contra-dances or contredanses (which roughly translated “opposites dance”), as indicated in a 1710 dance book called ‘Receuil de Contredance‘.
The mention of contredance appears for the first time in a writing recounting a ball at Fontainebleau where Madame la Dauphine gave a demonstration thanks to her English dance master Isaac of Orleans who taught her this dance. The French dance master André LORIN went to London to learn these dances and bring them back to the French court.
The new’ countredance’ gained the approval of the French aristocracy and consequently obtained great popularity. This success will last throughout the 18th century. During which time it started to evolve and spread through Europe, West Indies and the Indian Ocean.
The evolution of the country dance
The evolution of the country dance is highly complex but in essence this early European form of dance was refined in Europe and developed into different sub-dances or formations, which are often danced together, and are collectively referred to as contredanse.
The three main sub-dances were the square, the circle and the line formations. The square formation, developed into the Quadrille around 1740; the circle formation became the Rondes, and the line dance formation remained as the original dance formation of Contredanse. Each of these formations were danced in sequence at balls and other social gatherings.
These new dances gradually spread all through Europe, to the West Indies as well as into the Indian Ocean to Réunion Island and ultimately to us in the Seychelles.
The Contredance and Quadrille in La Réunion
The quadrille, the ronde, as well as the contredance, and together with some European ballroom dances including waltzes, polkas, mazurkas, etc. were introduced in Réunion in the mid-19th century by the bourgeoisie during the time of French colonial expansion. The bourgeoisie was composed mainly of soldiers from different layers of the Parisian and provincial population. The dance repertoire was also promoted by noble officers, settlers, sailors as well as missionaries and was often performed on the violin and the banjo by minstrels and musicians known as ‘jouars’.
The dances were gradually modified and creolised, with the addition of sega rhythm and creole words to these traditionally instrumental tunes and ultimately firmly established themselves in the Réunion’s musical landscape. They were then gradually introduced to the Seychelles, the only exception was probably the quadrille, discussed below.
What is the Quadrille?
Quadrille is a class of set dances distinguished by having four (no more, no fewer) couples in a square set. Each couple faced in and formed one side of a square. They were popular in the middle decades of the 19th Century. Quadrille emerged as a rebellion against the simplicity and inclusiveness of the Country Dance. In their early years, they included elaborate steps in addition to complex figures, all of which had to be memorized. It was a dance for an exclusive clique of accomplished dancers.
The classic ‘Quadrille français’ is made up of a set of six individual Quadrille dances:
Example of a quadrille by Hubert Collinet 1823
The quadrille in Seychelles
There is a bit of confusion as to whether the quadrille was ever introduced in the Seychelles. Although the kontredans in Europe went out of style in the mid-nineteenth century, and was eclipsed by the quadrille, and although the quadrille became popular in Réunion, it appears that it was never introduced to the Seychelles. If it was, it would have been bastardised. For example, we see elements of the Quadrille L’Eté in our Kontredans Avande (Fr. Avant Deux), and elements of the Quadrille ‘Le Patalon’ in our Kontredans Avankat (Fr. Avant Quatre),
On the other hand, the kontredans continued to be danced, became fully creolised and has lasted to this day. The main reason why the quadrille never took hold in Seychelles was may be due to the geographical isolation of the islands. It could also be because of the inflexibility of the Quadrille with its complex figures, that were difficult to remember, as well as its lacked of energy.
The Quadrille is still danced in Réunion, although not very widely. It is also still popular in some Caribbean Islands including Jamaica, St Lucia, Dominica ,and Grenada where the French had some colonial influences.
The main differences between the Quadrille and kontredans
The quadrille and the kontredans have two different types of formation although they may have shared similar steps, including the chassé-croisé, (becoming krwase-sase in creole), galop, or galo, avant deux, and many more. For example, as you can probably hear from the two quadrilles linked below, some of the calls or figures are quite familiar to us. This is because all the calls in the Seychellois kontredans originate from French calls.
QUADRILLE : LA BATHURST 1812
| A | 1-8 | Introduction and honours |
| B | 1-8 | Head couples do a chaîne anglaise |
| A | 1-8 | Head couples facing partner balancez and tour de main droite |
| C | 1-8 | Head couples do a chaine des dames |
| A | 1-8 | Head couples demie promenade à quatre and demi chaine anglaise |
2nd QUADRILLE: LA PALK (L’été) named after Lawrence Palk (1766-1813), a Member of the British Parliament
| A | 1-8 | Introduction and honours |
| B | 1-4 | 1st man and 3nd lady En avant deux et reculer |
| 5-8 | 1st man and 3nd lady Traversez | |
| 9-16 | 1st man and 3nd lady Chassez et déchassez puis Traversez | |
| A | 1-4 | 1st man and 3nd lady Balancez quatre |
| 5-8 | 1st man and 3nd lady Tour de main (right) |
The formation of the quadrille
As can be seen in the two videos above, in the quadrille, partners stand side by side, each couple forming one side of a square. The couples in each corner of the square take turns, in performing the dance, where one couple dance, and the other couple rests. One pair is called the “head” couple, the adjacent pairs the “side” couples. A dance figure is often performed first by the head couple and then repeated by the side couples.
The formation of the kontredans
On the other hand, the kontredans, as the name implies, couples stand opposite to and facing one another, (vis-à-vis in French) giving rise to two parallel lines. The French term “contredanse,” was transferred into English as “country dance,” but this is clearly a misnomer, since the name, it is said that, if anglicized at all, should be called ‘contra-dance’.
The minimum number of dancers required to dance the contredance are two couples. Couples consist of two people, traditionally but not necessarily one male and one female, typically referred to as the kavalye or gentleman or man, and danm or lady or woman. Couples interact primarily with an adjacent couple for each round of the dance.
When there is quite a large group of dancers, the kontredans are arranged in two long lines of couples. The lines are generally arranged so they run the length of the room or hall, with one line closer to the band and caller and the other line at the other end. Both lines face each other.
Kontredans in Seychelles- Historical Trivya
In the early nineteenth centuries the primary dance in the homes and halls of the villages in Seychelles was the Kanmtole, the kontredans of which was one of its three components. The other two components are the ladans semp or simple dances and the sega. The kontredans, was originally a dance for the landowners or gran blan but did not remain limited to this community for long. Ultimately, everybody partook in this activity. The Kanmtole dance would usually start at around 8.00pm and go on until the early hours in the morning, about 4.00am when the ‘Final’, a kontredans called ‘Final’, was played to close the evening.
Other influences in the kontredans
As discussed above, although the calls are of French origin, most of the melodic themes, as well as the repertoire of the kontredans, are rooted in the English, Irish, and Scottish tradition. This is because the contredance has mixed origins from English country dance, Scottish country dance, and French dance styles of the 17th century. Furthermore, there had not been enough time since the introduction of the kontredans in the Seychelles for French popular themes to be incorporated.
Apart from being creolised, these individual dances of the kontredans , described below, were rapidly enriched with several other influences. These include new dances like the polka, the schottische or kotis and even the one-step. This explains why some of the melody and rythm of the kontredans resembles the kotis, some even the dyaz. The rythm of the Final is exactly like the kotis an glisan. It was also heavily influenced by the sega. The original kontredance was more like a ‘walking’ dance, but once creolised, ended as a more lively dance with sega steps.
Types of kontredans in Seychelles
There are altogether around nine popular types of kontredans in Seychelles and these include: Avande (Fr. Avant Deux), Avantrwa (Fr. Avant Trois), Avankat (Fr. Avant Quatre), Men Gos Men drwat (Fr. Main gauche main droite), Dozado (Dos à Dos), Laboulonzer (Fr. La Boulangère), Galo (Fr. Le galop), Final (Fr. Final) and Galo Final. There are three other slightly different kontredans to the first group and these are: Lansye (Fr. Lancier), Polonez (Fr. Polonaise) and Karyon (Fr. Carillion).
I will attempt to describe each one of these dances in the third post in the series.
The components of the kontredans
A successful kontredans needs three components: dancers, a caller, and a band.
The dancers
In most kontredans sessions you have couples made up of males- kavalye- (Fr. Cavalier) and females- danm- (Fr. Dame). But there are also instances when there are not enough male partners, you will end up with two females dancing as partners. However, in this case, one will take the role of the kavalye and one of the danm. Sometimes the ladies will wear a tie to denote that they are dancing the male part, shown below.
It is now compulsory for students following the International Tourism course at the Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA) to be proficient in both the theoretical and practical aspects of the Seychellois traditional dance.
Most kontredans do not have a strict dress code. No special outfits are worn, but comfortable and loose-fitting clothing that does not restrict movement is usually recommended. Lightweight, and at times colourful, skirts are often worn by women, as these have a very pretty effect when swinging or twirling. However, low, broken-in, soft-soled, non-marking shoes, or sandals, are recommended and, in some places, required, bearing in mind that some of the kanmtole sessions were held in private homes which had wooden floors and scuff marks or dented floors from high heels were not welcomed.
The men traditionally wore long trousers and white shirt. The tropical floral shorts that are worn to-day was not considered manly in the early days.
The caller and his calls– Komander ek son Maloumbo
As mentioned earlier, the kontredans always has a caller or komander who directs the dance by calling out the figures or the pattern of movements to be performed. Each dance is a collection of figures assembled to allow the dancers to progress along dance. A dance may end up with about 12 figures on the average. They more or less follow the same order but have a range of complexity. The caller creates the rythm and animates the dances by singing his calls, locally known as his maloumbo, and using the triangle to set the tempo.
It is interesting to note that, despite all modern influences on other traditional music and dances of the Seychelles, the kontredans, has, nonetheless, retained the characteristics of its origin. Not only has it kept its orchestral instruments, but also, since it is a ‘called’ dance, it continues to be mostly in ‘French’, despite the fact that the caller and dancers do not generally speak this language fluently. The calls are, ironically, much less intelligible to francophones than to the dancers who perform the requested movements. The dancers may not themselves understand the exact meanings of the traditional words they repeat while performing the movements and yet can still perform flawless steps and movements.
Most of the time, the calls are also embellished by witty Creole inserts: ‘pardon manman, zanmen mon a fer ankor zot!’ (Forgive me mother; never will I do it again): ding dong bel ton mari kontan kouto ( ding dong bel your husband likes knives). These inserts are thrown in during lulls when the dancers are following a specific instruction, for example during ‘la chaine des dames’ when the ladies weave their way around their male partners.
It is also worth noting that, the caller can also, on a whim, take any melody from one kontredans and use it to call for another kontredans. For example, a caller can easily take the melody for the avankat and use it to call a kontredans in avande.
The band
The equipment
The kontredans was always performed during the kanmtole. It was initially interpreted in a classical manner, with two fiddles, or vyolon , one playing the melody while the other provided the back-up part. The Seychellois quickly enriched this formation by adding instruments like the a triangle, or triyang, the accordion ,or lakordeon, and the banjo, or benndyo, as well as a large drum or groskes. The groskes was made of tree trunks and goat skin. Gradually, the accordion emerged to share the limelight and gave the vocal melody greater energy by repeating most notes.
The addition of all the instruments gave rise to a proper band, locally known as the Kanmtole band. All kanmtole bands had to play the kontredans. It was part of their repertoire.
After World War II, when Seychellois soldiers returned home, they introduced new instruments including drums and acoustic guitar which became an integral part of the kanmtole. The acoustic guitar added extra rhythm and complemented that produced by the triangle.
The musicians
Although the French settlers and property owners enjoyed dancing the kontredans, very few of them could play the music. The musicians therefore were the slaves and freed slaves mainly of Malagasy origin. It is acknowledged by historians that these slaves, who could neither read nor write, were truly talented. After listening to a few pieces of music, they succeeded in taking from them the stroke of the long bow and fine phrasing, and, by combining these with precision of touch and the quality of sound they possessed naturally, plus constant practice became proficient musicians. This is still the case to-day. Some were hired by the landowners, or gran blan, for their balls and general entertainment, although their professional activity naturally extended well beyond this social class.
As time progressed, the musicians gradually blended the European music with the sega and other rythms from their roots and creolised the dances and consequently gave the kontredans its unique rythm which became very different from the original versions brought over by the French.
Some popular Kanmtole bands
Some of the most popular kanmtole bands existed over the years included: Ravageur de Canton, Sidonie and the Nightingales, Forest Child, XYZ, Tikok ek son group, Anse Boileau Kanmtole Band, La Liberté , Rosario Band, and André Sinon and the Hill-Billies.
What’s next?
In the next post, I will attempt to explain the calls and figures that are performed during the different kontredans, and in the third post, I will try to feature the actual dances and embed the music and hopefully include some video links to the dances. I welcome any anyone who can make any contribution here.
A personal request
I look forward to any assistance that will make these posts more accurate and comprehensive.
Sources:
- Attitudes To Slavery and Race In Seychellois Creole Oral Literature- By Penda Theresia Choppy
- Complete Quadrille Call Book and Dancing Master- By Prof. A. C. Wirth, Ex-President of American National Association-Masters of Dancing.
- Follow the Signs – The Quadrille follow-the-signs–the-quadrille-for-caribbean-carnival-cultures.pdf (leedsbeckett.ac.uk)
- Musical Transculturations and Identitarian Dynamics Three Case Studies from Réunion- Guillaume Samson
- La Créolisation Réunionnaise telle Qu’entendue Depuis Sa Musique Traditionnelle- Benjamin LAGARDE 13 décembre 2012
- Lanmisik ek Ladans Traditionnel Seselwa- Ladans Salon / Kanmtole- Konservatwar Lanmizik ek Ladans, Minister Ledikasyon ek Kiltir 1996
Any suggestions or comments about this post
I look forward to any contribution that would assist in making this post as accurate and comprehensive as possible.
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