This horizontal oil painting shows a woman dancing in the center with men and women sitting behind her along a gray wall. The painting is massive – taking up the entire wall it is on. The light-skinned woman in the center of the painting has black hair, pinned up above her neck. She is standing, her body facing our right. Her left arm is raised to shoulder height, with her pinky and pointer fingers extended, and the back of her hand facing us. She is wearing a black shawl with flecks of light blue across the fabric. Her right hand holds part of her bright white skirt, her elbow and palm facing towards us. Her skirt billows around her, with dark paint strokes defining her body from her surroundings. We can see a black heel peeking out from beneath her skirt. She is illuminated from below, so that her chin, arms, and skirt are lit, while her face is in shadow. Behind her on the gray wall, the dark form of her shadow is projected above the seated onlookers, whose shadows are also projected on the wall below hers. On our left, hanging above the onlookers, are two brown guitars. Below the guitars are splatters of red paint and red handprints. Along the wall, there is a seated man with medium-light skin who is the farthest to our left in the painting. He is facing forward, with a guitar resting on his lap. His eyes appear to be closed, and he is wearing a large black hat, a white shirt, and a gray overcoat. Moving to our right, next to him, is another seated medium-light skinned man, who is concentrating on the woman in the center and clapping. He is wearing a dark hat, jacket, and pants, with a white shirt. There are two small red stripes along the pockets of his jacket. To our right, the man’s left, is a white chair with an orange on it. Next to the chair, to our right, are two seated medium-light skinned men playing guitars, looking down at their instruments. They are wearing the same outfit of a black hat, black jacket and pants, and a white shirt. To their left, our right, is a hatless medium-light skinned man, leaning back in his chair, his head raised and against the wall and his mouth open wide. His hands resting on his thighs, palms down. The dancing woman in the center is slightly overshadowing the next man seated to our right. He has medium-light skin and is wearing all black. He claps his hands and is focused on the dancing woman. To his left, our right, are two seated women with light-skin. The one seated to the man’s left, our right, is clapping, her eyes closed and her head facing towards the dancer. She has black hair. She is wearing a deep magenta shawl and a white dress. The woman to her left, our right, has both arms raised above her head. Her left arm is out of the frame. She has black hair and deep red lips. Her eyes are open, concentrating on the dancer. She is smiling and wearing a reddish-orange top with a white skirt. Black lace hangs just below her knees. Above the two seated women, written in red, is the word “ole”. “John S. Sargent 1822” is signed in black paint on our top right. The painting sits in a smooth, gilded wooden frame with a carved edge of vines.