II. The context of exoticism in Fanny Elssler'sCachucha

The Wench: Black Women in the Antebellum Minstrel Show and Popular Culture

“…The Cachucha was a Spanish solo dance that was created in Cuba, and, later, popularized by Austrian dancer Fanny Elssler’s performances in ballet‐pantomime Le Diable boiteaux, which was seen in Austria, Germany, England, France, Russia, and the United States throughout the 1830s and 1840s. This dance was viewed as exotic and flirtatious and truly symbolic of the sexualized other, therefore the reference to the Cachucha in this version of the minstrel song demonstrates the minstrel performances and audience familiarity with this Spanish folk dance and their desire to show Miss Lucy Long as sexualized and appealing (Arkin).…”