Walk past the corner of Royal Street and Clouet Street in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans on an occasional Sunday, and you’ll feel as if you were standing outside of a Cajun dance hall in Acadiana. Every second Sunday from October to May, the Tigermen Den, a two-hundred-year-old house turned community space and cultural center, hosts a Cajun brunch with live music from 11-2 pm for jubilant dancing guests.
The Tigermen Den’s owner and Toronto native Leesaw Andaloro fell in love with Cajun music and dancing not long after Hurricane Katrina, when a Louisianan introduced her to a Cajun Fais Do-Do at Café Des Amis in Breaux Bridge. “The first time I went to Café Des Amis, I just sat there and I was in heaven. It was sweaty. The dance floor is packed. It’s awkwardly crowded. There is this chaos and beauty. I never stopped smiling.”
Andaloro had visited New Orleans several times as a teenager and later lived in France for four years, where she worked in the electronic music scene and promoted events – skills that would come in handy when she opened the Tigermen Den. Her original plan was to open a restaurant, but her love of Cajun music would come to influence the business’ future.
The first time I went to Café Des Amis, I just sat there and I was in heaven. It was sweaty. The dance floor is packed. It’s awkwardly crowded. There is this chaos and beauty. I never stopped smiling.
In search of Cajun music in New Orleans, Andaloro stepped in many venues but never found the same vibe she experienced in Breaux Bridge. “I couldn’t find that energy of the morning time or the wood floors. It didn’t feel like grandma’s house with coffee cups flying and wooden dance floor stomping. Suddenly I realized, maybe I don’t have to drive 2.5 hours out to Lafayette to find a wooden dance floor and a crowded space. Maybe we could bring a little bit of that experience of Cajun Country here.”
That is exactly what she did. Since 2012, the Tigermen Den has been hosting a monthly Cajun Fais Do-Do brunch, playing a role in preserving what she refers to as roots music. “It is the music that is the originating essence coming out of a culture, the primary release of a style within a culture. Cajun music is the root music born from the first wave of music in that culture. We’re preserving that original style.”
Tomorrow, The Tigermen Den holds his first ‘Cajun Brunch and Dance’ of the season. On the second Sunday of each month from October to May, throngs of aspiring Cajun two-steppers file into the house to dance to musical guests like Cheryl Cormier, The Daiquiri Queens, and Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots, as well as to enjoy dishes like gumbo and red beans. Young and old, first time two-steppers and veteran dancers, all mix in the joyous scene.
Every event includes a brief dance lesson commencing at 12 pm. Baton Rouge native Michelle Kowalski leads the lessons and strives to create a welcoming ambiance that allows first-time dancers to gain confidence and share in the joy that is Cajun dancing. “The only thing that you have to bring to my lesson is wanting to dance. It’s the most inviting kind of atmosphere. It’s very wholesome to begin with. It is kid and dog friendly. There’s good food, ” says Kowalski. “If you’re having a bad time when Cajun music is playing, you can’t be helped.” jokingly says Kowalski.
If it’s something that you’re hesitant or scared of, that means it’s exactly what you should be doing. When you’re on the other side of it, you’re going to be kicking yourself that you hadn’t been doing it longer. Just go for it.
Musician Drew Simon plays at The Tigermen Den every year as a member of the band T’Monde, having taken notice of the younger crowd that the brunches attract. “It’s one of my favorite gigs. It’s such a cool place. It’s small, it’s intimate, and people are just dancing the whole time. It’s really cool to see that.”
A Cajun dance hall veteran attending a Tigermen brunch would pick up on subtle differences between it and a Fais Do-Do in Acadiana, as elements of the more bohemian Bywater lifestyle filter onto the dance floor. Vintage clothing, eclectic tattoos, and dyed hair can be more common than belt buckles and boots. And that’s part of what makes the Tigermen Den Cajun Brunch unique. Native Louisianans, new and temporary neighbors, and tourists alike intermix to celebrate one of south Louisiana’s greatest traditions by two-stepping on a wooden dance floor.
And those would-be dancers who are sitting on the sideline, Kowalski has some advice. “If it’s something that you’re hesitant or scared of, that means it’s exactly what you should be doing. When you’re on the other side of it, you’re going to be kicking yourself that you hadn’t been doing it longer. Just go for it.”
