The Bèlè (Belair) dance incorporates traditional music and movements stretching back to traditional slaves brought from Africa to the Caribbean. The dance, characterized by flowing motions, colourful costumes and bold steps, blends traditional African dance with a Caribbean flair.
In Africa, the Bèlè dance had origins in festivals associated with mating and fertility. A male and female (in Creole, the "Kavalè" and the "Danm") show off their dance skills to the other dancer, hinting at their sexuality in chants led by a "chantuelle" meaning singer and the refrain or "lavwé (La voix)" given by a chorus of spectators. The French named the dance "Belaire," or good tune which became Bèlè in Creole. Of all the folk dances it has the strongest African roots.
In the West Indies the dance is widespread, it is known from Martinique to Trinidad and even Venezuela. This dance was incorporated into work and periods of festivity and lamenting. Because the Bèlè dance was suitable to many diverse aspects of plantation life and life-events, the dance and music continued to evolved over time from slavery into freedom.
The Bèlè as it is known in Trinidad, arrived on the island from the French West Indies after the year 1783, when French settlers began arriving en masse in order to set up estates.
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