J'ai Ete Au Bal (I Went to the Dance)

"J'ai Ete Au Bal," or "I Went to the Dance," is a toe-tapping historical retrospective that chronicles the story of infectious music unique to Southwest Louisiana.

Les Blank is a popular film folklorist of sorts whose short and feature-length documentaries are both informative and highly entertaining. He seems to specialize in offbeat fringe society rituals that most people know very little about.

And it's obvious in each film that Blank has enormous respect and affection for the people whose lives he glimpses, whether they are San Francisco garlic fanatics ("Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers"), Polish-American polka dancers ("In Heaven There Is No Beer?"), women with gaps in their teeth ("Gap-Toothed Women") or those who perpetuate their own peculiar forms of music, ranging from French ("Hot Pepper") to Appalachian ("Sprout Wings and Fly") to modern rock 'n' roll ("BE-FORE," with Huey Lewis and the News).

In "I Went to the Dance" Blank, along with fellow filmmakers Chris Strachwitz and Maureen Gosling, not only shows the Cajun people in Southwest Louisiana dancing up a storm and playing and singing but offers a very specific history of where the music came from and how it is integrated into people's lives.

Among the many musicians highlighted, the most memorable are Michael Doucet, Queen Ida Guillory, Marc and Ann Allen Savoy, Wayne Toups and the late Dennis McGee.

This is a delightful trip through a particular past and an affectionate homage to some very special music. And I defy you to keep your feet still.