The building would bounce to the beat:
Saving one of Louisiana's oldest remaining dance halls
May 17, 2024
by Joanna Brown
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Members of the Zydeco History and Preservation Society Rod Sias, right, and Joseph Chassion Charles, left, take measurements at Slim's Y-Ki-Ki Zydeco Dance Hall on Monday, April 29, 2024 in Opelousas, La.. The club has received a preservation grant to save the building as a future museum and Sias and Charles were there to measure and document the interior. STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD KEMP |
When Slim’s Y-Ki-Ki Zydeco dance hall closed in Opelousas in 2016, it represented an end of an era.
Not an end to listening to zydeco, certainly. Festivals, both local and worldwide, celebrate southwest Louisiana’s homegrown sound. Today's zydeco artists travel for gigs all over the world — in addition to being recognized at the Grammys and regularly played on radio and streaming services where any group of Creoles and Cajuns are gathered. Indeed, zydeco is still very much the soundtrack of life across Louisiana.
But that still begs the question: What happened to all the dance halls?
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The Slim's Y-Ki-Ki Zydeco Dance Hall on Monday, April 29, 2024 in Opelousas, La.. The club has received a preservation grant to save the building as a future museum. STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD KEMP |
Hamilton’s. Richard’s. Slim’s. These dance halls, in Lafayette, Lawtell, and Opelousas attracted big names and big crowds in their heyday, featuring acts such as Clifton Chenier, Rockin’ Dopsie and Boozoo Chavis. All have closed in the past couple of decades, while it feels like zydeco has never been more popular.
“It’s hard to believe at one time there were over 1,000 in the southwest corner of the state,” says Herman Fuselier, author of a 2016 book on Louisiana dance halls with photographer Philip Gould called “Ghosts of Good Times.”
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Joseph Chassion Charles a member of the Zydeco History and Preservation Society takes a measurement at Slim's Y-Ki-Ki Zydeco Dance Hall on Monday, April 29, 2024 in Opelousas, La.. The club has received a preservation grant to save the building as a future museum and Charles was there to measure and document the interior. STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD KEMP |
“There’s something about listening to music in a dance hall that’s different,” he says. “Low ceilings, wooden floors — the building would bounce to the beat. It was an experience.”
But the days of going to Richard’s or Slim's to see the top Zydeco acts are long gone.
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Rod Sias a member of the Zydeco History and Preservation Society takes photos go the interior at Slim's Y-Ki-Ki Zydeco Dance Hall on Monday, April 29, 2024 in Opelousas, La.. The club has received a preservation grant to save the building as a future museum and Sias was there to measure and document the interior. STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD KEMP |
“Music has transitioned,” says Fuselier. “There’s so much available digitally, on top of zydeco festivals featuring the music. At one time, that was unheard of. In my job as tourism director [of St. Landry Parish] I go to zydeco festivals in Oregon, France, the Netherlands. It’s not dead, but a different format and platform.”
These shifting trends had a huge impact on how the families who owned the clubs operated, according to Tony Gradney, son of Arnold “Slim” Gradney, who opened Slim’s Y-Ki-Ki dance hall in 1947.
“Right here was the roots of zydeco,” says Gradney, referring to Slim’s and Richard’s being the first two zydeco clubs in the area. “People would come from all over the world to find zydeco, because nobody else had it. Now, it’s all over.
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Owner Tony Gradney, right, meets with members of the Zydeco History and Preservation Society Rod Sias, left, and Joseph Chassion Charles , center, at Slim's Y-Ki-Ki Zydeco Dance Hall on Monday, April 29, 2024 in Opelousas, La.. The club has received a preservation grant to save the building as a future museum and Sias and Charles were there to measure and document the interior. STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD KEMP |
“They would come no matter who was playing. Big groups would reserve tables for the weekend,” he says. “Then, the new generation came in and you didn’t really need tables. They weren’t sitting down like the old people.”
The younger crowd were more difficult for Gradney and his sister to keep up with, on top of mounting expenses. “I was getting older, my sister was getting older — she couldn’t take it anymore. So I said, well, we enjoyed it. We decided to take a break from it.”
What the future holds for Slim's Y-Ki-Ki
Now the family is taking care to ensure a future for Slim’s Y-Ki-Ki — one that honors its past while ensuring that Opelousas and St. Landry Parish retains its distinctive place in history as the “roots of zydeco.”
The Gradneys are working with Rod Sias, director of the Zydeco Historical and Preservation Society in Opelousas, to conduct a feasibility study that will allow them to submit Slim’s to the National Register for Historic Places.
The society recently received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to complete the study and develop a restoration plan for the building. This is the first phase of a larger goal to create a cultural arts district in Opelousas, to connect the region’s past with its future.
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Owner Tony Gradney, right, meets with members of the Zydeco History and Preservation Society Rod Sias, center, and Joseph Chassion Charles, left, at Slim's Y-Ki-Ki Zydeco Dance Hall on Monday, April 29, 2024 in Opelousas, La.. The club has received a preservation grant to save the building as a future museum and Sias and Charles were there to measure and document the interior. STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD KEMP |
“Slim’s Y-Ki-Ki is the second oldest zydeco dance hall in the world,” says Sias. “Since it shut down, we took the opportunity to work with the family to begin to say, let’s transform it from a dance hall to a preservation hall.” “We saw about 10, 15 years ago that the shift in zydeco was moving from rural to urban, and it was spreading all over. So these places that were the heart of zydeco and Creole music were being left abandoned, falling into disrepair. Of course the owners die, there’s no succession plan, all these things. So we watched places like Offshore Lounge [in Lawtell] literally fall apart.” There could be one-off shows and other events at Slim's in the future, but preserving the area’s living history is the main goal.  Members of the Zydeco History and Preservation Society Rod Sias, right, and Joseph Chassion Charles, left, take measurements at Slim's Y-Ki-Ki Zydeco Dance Hall on Monday, April 29, 2024 in Opelousas, La.. The club has received a preservation grant to save the building as a future museum and Sias and Charles were there to measure and document the interior. STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD KEMP “Richard’s, the Grand Ole Opry of Zydeco, was just six miles away. It was lost to fire. Gone without a trace,” says Fuselier. “If you didn’t know it was there you would never know. To have Slim’s meet the same fate — it would not be good.” But the sound persists. And change isn’t a bad thing. There are now more avenues for artists to make money, while it’s easier than ever for new generations to fall in love with the music, if they’re looking for it. Sias and others just want to ensure that the old places are remembered, while the culture continues to evolve.  Joseph Chassion Charles a member of the Zydeco History and Preservation Society writes measurements down at Slim's Y-Ki-Ki Zydeco Dance Hall on Monday, April 29, 2024 in Opelousas, La.. The club has received a preservation grant to save the building as a future museum and Charles was there to measure and document the interior. STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD KEMP “This is our foundational history,” says Sias. “It’s an opportunity for younger generations to understand the roots of the Creole culture. We live in a unique time — I was actually able to see Clifton Chenier and Boozoo Chavis. Our children, they’ve just heard about it.” That’s why he says these sites are worth preserving, even while zydeco as an art form can never be restricted to a single place.  Members of the Zydeco History and Preservation Society Rod Sias, right, and Joseph Chassion Charles, left, take measurements at Slim's Y-Ki-Ki Zydeco Dance Hall on Monday, April 29, 2024 in Opelousas, La.. The club has received a preservation grant to save the building as a future museum and Sias and Charles were there to measure and document the interior. STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD KEMP “One thing with music is that every generation interprets it in their own way," says Sias. "When we preserve places like Slim’s Y-Ki-Ki, the physical structure has a direct impact on the health of the culture. And we can measure the health of our culture by our ability to preserve our sacred spaces.” |
