Directed by Les Blank and Chris Strachwitz • 1989 • United States

Les Blank returned time again to the world of Louisiana’s Cajun and Creole communities, and this exuberant documentary may be his definitive account of the history of Cajun and Zydeco music. Tracing the origins of the style and its enduring vitality through renowned musicians like Michael Doucet and BeauSoleil, Clifton Chenier, Marc and Ann Savoy, D. L. Menard, and others, I WENT TO THE DANCE is a bighearted tribute to a singular subculture and the people who keep its traditions alive.