New Orleans Carnival Balls

New Orleans Carnival Balls PDF Author: Jennifer Atkins
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807167584
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
Mardi Gras festivities don’t end after the parades roll through the streets; rather, a large part of the celebration continues unseen by the general public. Retreating to theaters, convention centers, and banquet halls, krewes spend the post-parade evening at lavish balls, where members cultivate a sense of fraternity and reinforce the organization’s shared values through pageantry and dance. In New Orleans Carnival Balls, Jennifer Atkins draws back the curtain on the origin of these exclusive soirees, bringing to light unique traditions unseen by outsiders. The oldest Carnival organizations—the Mistick Krewe of Comus, Twelfth Night Revelers, Krewe of Proteus, Knights of Momus, and Rex—emerged in the mid-nineteenth century. These old-line krewes ruled Mardi Gras from the Civil War until World War I, and the traditions of their private balls reflected a need for group solidarity amidst a world in flux. For these organizations, Carnival balls became magical realms where krewesmen reinforced their elite identity through sculpted tableaux vivants performances, mock coronations, and romantic ballroom dancing. This world was full of possibilities: krewesmen became gods, kings, and knights, while their daughters became queens and maids. As the old-line krewes cultivated a sense of brotherhood, they used costume and movement to reaffirm their group identity, and the crux of these performances relied on a specific mode of expression—dancing. Using the concept of dance as a lens for examining Carnival balls, Atkins delves deeper into the historical context and distinctive rituals of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Beyond presenting readers with a new means of thinking about Carnival traditions, Atkins’s work situates dance as a vital piece of historical inquiry and a mode of study that sheds new light on the hidden practices of some of the best-known krewes in the Big Easy.

New Orleans Carnival Balls

New Orleans Carnival Balls PDF Author: Jennifer Atkins
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807167584
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Get Book

Book Description
Mardi Gras festivities don’t end after the parades roll through the streets; rather, a large part of the celebration continues unseen by the general public. Retreating to theaters, convention centers, and banquet halls, krewes spend the post-parade evening at lavish balls, where members cultivate a sense of fraternity and reinforce the organization’s shared values through pageantry and dance. In New Orleans Carnival Balls, Jennifer Atkins draws back the curtain on the origin of these exclusive soirees, bringing to light unique traditions unseen by outsiders. The oldest Carnival organizations—the Mistick Krewe of Comus, Twelfth Night Revelers, Krewe of Proteus, Knights of Momus, and Rex—emerged in the mid-nineteenth century. These old-line krewes ruled Mardi Gras from the Civil War until World War I, and the traditions of their private balls reflected a need for group solidarity amidst a world in flux. For these organizations, Carnival balls became magical realms where krewesmen reinforced their elite identity through sculpted tableaux vivants performances, mock coronations, and romantic ballroom dancing. This world was full of possibilities: krewesmen became gods, kings, and knights, while their daughters became queens and maids. As the old-line krewes cultivated a sense of brotherhood, they used costume and movement to reaffirm their group identity, and the crux of these performances relied on a specific mode of expression—dancing. Using the concept of dance as a lens for examining Carnival balls, Atkins delves deeper into the historical context and distinctive rituals of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Beyond presenting readers with a new means of thinking about Carnival traditions, Atkins’s work situates dance as a vital piece of historical inquiry and a mode of study that sheds new light on the hidden practices of some of the best-known krewes in the Big Easy.

New Orleans Carnival Krewes

New Orleans Carnival Krewes PDF Author: Rosary O'Neill
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1625846096
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
“The traditions, the secret societies and the history of how New Orleans and Mardi Gras came to be as integral to each other as red beans and rice” (Blogcritics). New Orleans is practically synonymous with Mardi Gras. Both evoke the parades, the beads, the costumes, the food—the pomp and circumstance. The carnival krewes are the backbone of this Big Easy tradition. Every year, different krewes put on extravagant parties and celebrations to commemorate the beginning of the Lenten season. Historic krewes like Comus, Rex, and Zulu that date back generations are intertwined with the greater history of New Orleans itself. Today, new krewes are inaugurated and widen a once exclusive part of New Orleans society. Through careful and detailed research of over three hundred sources, including fifty interviews with members of these organizations, author and New Orleans native Rosary O’Neill explores this storied institution, its antebellum roots and its effects in the twenty-first century. Includes photos! “[A] spirited and richly illustrated account.” —New York Theatre Wire

Carnival in Louisiana

Carnival in Louisiana PDF Author: Brian J. Costello
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807166537
Category : SOCIAL SCIENCE
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
From the revelers on horseback in Eunice and Mamou to the miles-long New Orleans parade routes lined with eager spectators shouting “Throw me something, mister!,” no other Louisiana tradition celebrates the Pelican State’s cultural heritage quite like Mardi Gras. In Carnival in Louisiana, Brian J. Costello offers Mardi Gras fans an insider’s look at the customs associated with this popular holiday and travels across the state to explore each area’s festivities. Costello brings together the stories behind the tradition, gleaned from his research and personal involvement in Carnival. His fascinating tour of the season’s parades, balls, courirs, and other events held throughout Louisiana go beyond the well-known locales for Mardi Gras. Exploring the diverse cultural roots of state-wide celebrations, Costello includes festivities in Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Roads, and Shreveport. From venerable floats to satirical parades, exclusive events to spontaneous street parties, Carnival in Louisiana is an indispensable guide for Mardi Gras attendees, both veteran Krewe members seeking to expand their horizons and first-time tourists hoping to experience of all sides of Louisiana’s favorite season.

Mardi Gras: Chronicles

Mardi Gras: Chronicles PDF Author: Errol Laborde
Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company, Inc.
ISBN: 9781455617647
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
The definitive guide to all things Mardi Gras . . . past and present! From Twelfth Night to Ash Wednesday, New Orleans is transformed. Queens and fools, demons and dragons reign over the Crescent City. This vividly photographed book is a lively, comprehensive history of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Fascinating and intimate, this book seamlessly intertwines the past with the present.

All on a Mardi Gras Day

All on a Mardi Gras Day PDF Author: Reid MITCHELL
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674041178
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
In this study, Reid Mitchell takes the reader to Mardi Gras - a yearly ritual that sweeps the multicultural city of New Orleans into a frenzy of parades, pageantry, dance, drunkenness, music, sexual display, and social and political bombast.

Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras PDF Author: Huber, Leonard V.
Publisher: Pelican Publishing
ISBN: 9781455608355
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description
Pictorial history of carnival in New Orleans.

Unveiling the Muse

Unveiling the Muse PDF Author: Howard Philips Smith
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 1496814029
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
Traditional Carnival has been well documented with a vast array of books published on the subject. However, few of them, if any, mention gay Carnival krewes or the role of gay Carnival within the larger context of the season. Howard Philips Smith corrects this oversight with a beautiful, vibrant, and exciting account of gay Carnival. Gay krewes were first formed in the late 1950s, growing out of costume parties held by members of the gay community. Their tableau balls were often held in clandestine locations to avoid harassment. Even by the new millennium, gay Carnival remained a hidden and almost lost history. Much of the history and the krewes themselves were devastated by the AIDS crisis. Whether facing police raids in the 1960s or AIDS in the 1980s, the Carnival krewes always came back each season. A culmination of two decades of research, Unveiling the Muse positions this incredible story within its proper place as an amazing and important facet of traditional Carnival. Based on years of detailed interviews, each of the major gay krewes is represented by an in-depth historical sketch, outlining the founders, moments of brilliance on stage, and a list of all the balls, themes, and royalty. Of critical importance to this history are the colorful ephemera associated with the gay tableau balls. Reproductions of never-before-published brilliantly designed invitations, large-scale commemorative posters, admit cards, and programs add dimension and life to this history. Sketches of elaborate stage sets and costumes as well as photographs of ball costumes and rare memorabilia further enhance descriptions of these tableau balls.

Lords of Misrule

Lords of Misrule PDF Author: James Gill
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 9781604736380
Category : Carnival
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
"Mardi Gras remains one of the most distinctive features of New Orleans. Although the city has celerated Carnival since its days as a French and Spanish colonial outpost, the rituals familiar today were largely established in the Civil War era by a white male elite." -- back cover.

Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781570544392
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras PDF Author: Henri Schindler
Publisher: Flammarion-Pere Castor
ISBN:
Category : Carnavals
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
From Twelfth Night (6 January) to Mardi Gras, New Orleans lives for her Carnival - a brilliant season of balls, revelry, costuming, and parades. Carnival artist and historian Henri Schindler offers a stunning panorama of Mardi Gras' evolution and its exuberant diversity - the early Creole cavalcades; the torchlit processions of the Mistick Krewe of Comus; the rise of Rex, King of the Carnival; fabulous tableaux balls, Carnival royalty; Storyville and the Baby Dolls; Les Mysterieuses, the first female society; and African-American creations - the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, and Mardi Gras Indians. The artistry, the joyous spirit, and strange opulence of Mardi Gras' Golden Age are revived in a dazzling profusion of illustrations, most of them published for the first time - beautifully finished watercolor designs of floats, costumes, and ball invitations, vintage photographs, lithographs, and prints.