La Poussière — The Cajun Dance Hall

La Poussière got its name from the dust dancers kicked up on the original dirt floor. The floor has been replaced. The name stayed. This is one of the oldest continuously operating Cajun dance halls in Louisiana — live music and dancing since the 1950s. The Balfa Brothers played here. Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys still do. On Saturday nights, multigenerational crowds dance the Cajun two-step and waltz. Newcomers are expected to join. Someone will show you how to dance. The region called Acadiana was settled by French-speaking Acadian refugees expelled from Canada by the British at the end of the Seven Years' War. The Acadians intermarried with other settlers, forming what became Cajun culture. La Poussière is not a performance of that culture for tourists. It is Cajun culture, doing what it does on Saturday nights. Open Saturdays. Arrive by 8pm.