New Orleans Carnival Balls: The Secret Side of Mardi Gras, 1870–1920 by Jennifer Atkins (review)

In New Orleans Carnival Balls: The Secret Side of Mardi Gras, 1870–1920, Jennifer Atkins examines the private Mardi Gras balls held by elite white male organizations (known as krewes) between Reconstruction and the Progressive era through the lens of dance. Atkins argues, "Dancing was the heart of krewe activities," and through dancing and other choreographed events, krewe members and their guests affirmed their racial, class, and gender identities (p. 152). The book focuses on the old-line krewes—Comus, Momus, Proteus, and Rex—founded between 1857 and 1881. Atkins reveals how krewesmen used dance and choreographed rituals to assert power, forge class solidarity, and bolster conservative traditions through intermarriage. Well written and well organized, this book is a fascinating study that brings a new perspective to bear on the performative nature of elite white Mardi Gras traditions in New Orleans.

Moving chronologically and thematically, Atkins traces changes in the balls' choreographed activities. During Reconstruction, old-line balls centered on tableaux vivants wherein masked krewesmen acted out commentaries on the political threats posed to white men by emancipation, Radical Reconstruction, and woman suffrage. Dressed as mythological and historical heroes, krewesmen performed a chivalric version of white southern manhood foundational to Lost Cause ideology. In the Gilded Age, focus shifted to the presentation of the krewes' royal courts through a grand march. As queens and maids, krewesmen's daughters performed "polished pedestrian" movements that symbolized an idealized white southern femininity (p. 105). Atkins argues that women gained "a measure of performative power" in the scripted roles because their participation undergirded krewesmen's idealized manhood (p. 8). Women also found some freedom of expression on the dance floor where matchmaking took place. The general dancing that concluded the balls allowed couples to share romantic moments and provided krewesmen and their guests the space to experiment in a way that other ball rituals did not. Thus the quadrilles of the Reconstruction era gave way to waltzing in the Gilded Age, which "encouraged a new, public (and liberating) exploration of desire for both men and women" (p. 133). The incorporation of ragtime in the Progressive era demonstrated the krewes' ability to adapt and, therefore, ensured their continued relevance in the future.

Atkins uses a variety of sources to reveal the "secret side" of Carnival balls. Newspapers provide detailed descriptions, but Atkins also creatively mines the krewes' extant paraphernalia to understand the various choreographed aspects of the balls. She analyzes invitations, costume illustrations, dancing manuals, and firsthand accounts. For example, Atkins uses dance cards to demonstrate the evolution of the kinds of dances performed during the general dancing portion of the ball. Several sources come from women who served on multiple krewe courts, and Atkins uses these to trace the creation of elite white Mardi Gras family dynasties.

Atkins builds on previous studies analyzing the racial, classed, and gendered roots of modern Mardi Gras. None, however, have focused so closely on Carnival balls or considered the important role of dancing to maintaining elite white identity. Atkins's work not only illustrates how bodily movements communicate and instill social values but also examines the role of private spaces in reinforcing those values. These revelations take on added significance in recent debates about removals of Confederate monuments. On February 22, 1884, the Robert E. Lee statue was unveiled in New Orleans with the daughters of Lee and other Confederate dignitaries in attendance. Four days later, these women composed the first female court at Comus's ball. Although Atkins does not make the connection between the statue dedication and the ball, her analysis of old-line krewe courts as embodiments of Lost Cause ideology makes clear how the values expressed in these public monuments were nurtured by private rituals at Carnival balls.