Louisiana Purpose

Allons Danser is still dancing after 15 years.

by Mary Armstrong

Allons Danser is not putting on sitdown concerts. Anybody with a little high school French knows the name is an invitation: Let’s dance! And the volunteer-run organization is now celebrating 15 years of assuring that the Franco-American culture -- music, dance, food -- of South Louisiana has a home away from home here in the Delaware Valley.

Of course, the movement-impaired or the shy are welcome to have a seat and enjoy watching the hotly animated dancers, but they are the exception. Generally the dancefloor is crowded, with attendance always well over 100, often up to 200, people.

How did Louisiana develop such a vibrant outpost in the North? "French was my baby language," says Kathleen Pearle, one of Allons Danser's founders. "My family is from Prince Edward Island; we dance all the time. I was dragged up there as a kid. My great-grandmother ran barn dances. I can remember being held in peoples' arms and danced around until my legs would go numb." When a budding relationship with another demographic historian led her to repeatedly visit Lafayette, La., -- the self-proclaimed "Capitol of Acadiana" -- it was like going home. Hearing French spoken in the street and on the radio, being invited to dances that started at 8 in the morning, it didn't take long for Pearle to get hooked.

By the time romance blossomed into family, Kathleen and her now-ex fell in love with Germantown, a paradise for historians. Still the call of Louisiana was strong. "We decided to team up with a local Cajun band, [the now defunct] Schuylkill Bayou Ramblers. We'd rent a hall and put on dances. We built an audience." It wasn't long before Allons Danser was sponsoring bands from Louisiana. Mostly Cajun bands to start with, folks like Savoy-Doucet and Steve Riley. Over the years, Allons Danser found that the biggest crowds turn out for zydeco, the juicy combination of Cajun and blues -- Creole music that's part country and part urban.

What caused the shift? Kathleen posits this theory: "Originally we attracted contradancers and ballroom dancers. Cajun has lots of rules and steps."

Donna Stasiorowski, who handled the booking for Allons Danser for many years, agrees. "Zydeco is more rock 'n' rolly, bluesy-sexy. People seem to connect quick. We get phone calls asking about new bands. [The callers] say if it is Cajun they won't come." Stasiorowski, who joined AD soon after it was formed, is herself a great lover of zydeco, an interesting switch from the polkas she grew up with in Manayunk. But the story is a lot like Kathleen's: love at first exposure.

"Some friends from work talked me into going to one of the early dances. I really connected. Though I'd never consciously listened to Cajun music, it seemed to be subliminally a part of me." A flier asking for volunteers to help put on the dances clinched the commitment. The same deal applies today. Hard workers are welcome to volunteer long hours in exchange for free dances and entrance to a community of dancing music lovers.

Every year Allons Danser brings in new young crowds and dance instructors from Lafayette, Eunice and other towns in the heart of Cajun/Creole country. Novices can show up an hour early for any AD dance and get step lessons from Fran Berbette. What you might pay big bucks for in a regular class is included in the price of admission. On Feb. 13, Allons Danser is experimenting with a two-band format. No breaks means nonstop dancing. "Roy Carrier is a legend. He has traveled the world [and] comes from a long line of musicians," Stasiorowski enthuses.

"He is right up there with Boozoo [Chavez] and Clifton [Chenier]. Leroy Thomas is son of legendary drummer Leo. He is Geno [Delafose]'s cousin: gutsy, bluesy, rock 'n' rollin', hard driving. Two of the best dance bands ever!" Speaking of the devil, Geno himself will be the Mardi Gras king, with his band that defines the French Rockin' Boogie sound.

Allons Danser presents Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners plus Roy Carrier & the Night Rockers, Fri., Feb. 13, $20, TK Club, Hector and Apple sts., Conshohocken; Mardi Gras Ball with Geno DelaFose & French Rockin’ Boogie, Fri., Feb. 27, $20 (includes dinner), Knights of Columbus Hall, 235 Limekiln Pike, Glenside; 7:30 p.m. instruction, 8:30 p.m. dancing, 215-576 0839, www.phillydance.com/zydeco.

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