Que quadrilha é essa? Busca por sentidos em uma dança em transformação

Abstract

The quadrille, dance that emerged in the eighteenth century in the context of the French courts, arrives in Brazil colonized in the nineteenth century, where it undergoes various adaptations and remains alive today mainly in the festivities of the month of June. The “June quadrille”, as they are known in Brazil, when they relate to the rural context are called quadrilha caipira or quadrilha matuta. These quadrilles are very present in the imaginary and the repertoire of Brazilian popular dances. In the beginning of the 1980s, a process of professionalization among the groups of June quadrilles gave rise to stylized and modern quadrilles, which compete in contests, relate to the urban context of June festivities and are very strong in the state of Goiás. The focus of this work is to investigate the transformations and the meanings of the June quadrilles in the present time, based on an analysis of the reality of some groups in the city of Aparecida de Goiânia (Goiás State, in Brazil) and report a personal experience with this dance. Based on an ethnography of groups from Aparecida de Goiânia that are part of the experience of the researcher as a dancer, it is intended to reflect on popular traditions, dynamism of culture, conception of folklore, popular culture, dialogues between tradition and contemporaneity, cultural industry, among others. Thus, reflecting on the dynamic processes involving popular traditions and the quadrilles in particular, the question "which quadrille is this?" is taken as to reflect, investigate and understand the processes of transformation that surround this culture.