Anybody else experiencing both the aging of the dance community (along with the dropping out of younger people), and the decrease in sizes of the dance crowd? That process has been going on here in the Bay Area for probably 10 years.
This is also in conjunction with the folks that are left just not going out as much.
Seems like it's particularly bad this year.
I at first thought it was just my band(s), but, from asking around, and attending the gig of another local, and higher level, band, I saw that they had maybe only 10 people more than my band, while playing at the same venue.
My wife and I have been playing in a cajun band in Seattle for about 20 years and our audience of dancers seems to be aging at the same rate as ourselves (not surprising!). The discouraging thing is the lack of young folks
attracted to Cajun music. We are currently playing at an Eagles club in north Seattle every month or two.
If we can get 60 folks we can pay our overhead and give all the band members $90 or so. Recently we
have been seeing around 45. We play lots of festivals and outdoor gigs during the summer months, but
would like to keep it going during the winter. Oh well, got to keep playing!
Being born and raised in Northeast Ohio, I grew up watching Polka music on television. My parents would also go up to Cleveland/Akron/Barberton areas and listen to the late Frank Yankovic's band and other Polka bands. I never had much interest in Polka music. I'll occasionally listen to it on the ONE radio station that plays it on a Saturday am. I see a similarity with how during the past 40 years, Polka music in NE Ohio has almost died. There are still pockets of bands/dances/listeners in the Cleveland/Akron/Barberton/Youngstown areas, but not even close to how popular it was in past generations. The older generations who grew up listening and dancing to polka are gone, and their children/grandchildren grew up on rock, so they had little to no interest in keeping it alive. I don't believe Cajun music is dying out, especially in SW Louisiana.
I have another thought..
Especially about Cajun music, polka.... Bohemians,(they originated polka)Czech, German, Austrian, Cajun etc cultures are dwindling because of a dilution of the species..
They do not always partner up with their own, and as a consequence drift farther away from their centers.
One exception is Quebec where traditions remain strong and seem to be growing rather than diminishing. I believe this is in part to a very strong nationalism, Quebecers (Quebecois ? ) are continually striving to part with the Country of Canada, and instead of being a state or territory, want to be an independent country.
They are fiercely jingoistic and nationalistic..and want to maintain their culture. They resist speaking English..as an example.. some do and practice it, but for their own reasons nothing to do with assimilation.
Even here in SW Louisiana, the audiences are dying off. That's right the Cajuns that enjoy going out to dance aren't going out as much because they have finally started to give in to the simple fact that there's not much reason to go out and celebrate anymore. They see their children struggling with money, family drama, job loss, freak accidents, politics, insurance cost, food cost, supplies cost, etc. and their outlook on life is affected by all this. The baby boomer generation and older are the one's who are most likely to attend Cajun dances. You can only ignore that gaping wound in your leg for so long before it forces you to pay attention to it. Death is a big deterrant to having good times. Bad times are also a deterrant to having good times.
The April 2011 Dewey Balfa Cajun & Creole Heritage Week
