June 5-8, 1997 Buffalo Gap Community Camp,

Capon Bridge, West Virginia

Photos from past years:

The The Bruce Daigerpont Cajun Band at the 1996 Buffalo Jambalaya. Photograph courtesy of : Sue Daigerpont - bdcband@cs.com

Ellen Wicker and Isaiah Reed demonstrate the Nouveau Zydeco moves. Buffalo Gap Dance Camp, 1995 Photograph by: Marty Katz

Information

Bands:
THREE GENERATIONS OF ARDOINS:
- Chris Ardoin and Double Clutchin': Chris Ardoin is a descendant of Creole legend and first man to record Creole/Cajun music, Amede Ardoin. Chris' band plays solid original zydeco with innovative harmonies and vocals sung both in English and French.
- Traditional Creole: Lawrence Ardoin's Traditional Creole band plays a Clifton Chenier-style of zydeco.
- Bois Sec Ardoin: (Tentative based on his health) La-la music (forerunner to zydeco), a combination of accordion and fiddle backed up by washboard, with a definite spring in the rhythm and a marked R&B influence.
BASIN BROTHERS CAJUN BAND, from the heart of the Atchafalaya River Basin, dish up a gumbo of the old-time waltzes and two-steps, spiced with a dash of Tabasco-tempoed zydeco, and held together by a roux of Southern charm and good humor.
Instructors:
- Harold Bernard and Jodi Hebert (Zydeco) are popular zydeco dancers from Lafayette, LA. Harold has been teaching cajun and zydeco dance for 25 years. Harold and Jodi will focus on traditional zydeco for beginning students and nouveau zydeco for the more advanced.
- Miriam Fontenot (Cajun) has been teaching Cajun dancing in Lafayette, LA since 1981. This year Miriam will focus on teaching the Mamou style of Cajun dance.
- Don Brasseaux (Cajun) is an exceptional dancer from Lafayette, LA. Don has been teaching the Mamou style of Cajun dance at the Augusta Heritage Cajun/Zydeco Week and at dance camps throughout the US.
Program:
Highlights of the weekend will include a dance featuring two or more of the bands on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights as well as Sunday afternoon. Workshops in beginning, intermediate, or advanced cajun and zydeco dances will be offered daily. (Most beginning instruction will be offered Friday.) In addition there will be instrument workshops, an afternoon waltz, informal dance parties, late-night bonfires, and jam sessions. Some may wish to take advantage of the sauna, swimming in the lake, sunning on the beach, or hiking the surrounding woodlands.
Facility and Accommodations:
The 200-acre camp, nestled in the mountains near Capon Bridge, West Virginia, is about 30 to 45 minutes from Winchester, Virginia, and two hours west of Washington, D.C. The grounds include a lake with a sandy beach, sauna, dining hall, an open-air dance pavilion, and a large dance hall. Housing consists of rustic dormitory-style cabins which sleep 8-12 people. All cabins have plumbing and electricity, but some do not have indoor showers. Dancers bring their own towels, toiletries, bed linen, pillows, blankets or sleeping bag. Couples will be expected to share a cabin with other couples. Tenting sites are available, but there are no RV hookups. In addition to three meals served daily, a snack is provided after each nightly dance.

Return to Cajun/Zydeco Music and Dance Page page.

Last updated on: 4/26/97