Venue:
Salle Omnisports, Melrand, Departement du Morbihan, Brittany
Date: 29/06/2024
It has been a glorious summer’s day in the bosky heart of Brittany. Earlier in the day, there was a procession in costume up the lanes and streets to the market place by the church in Melrand, population 1500. It was all part of a weekend of events laid on by Les Bugales Melrand, a local association devoted to the safeguarding and promotion of Breton culture. Participation is part of the manifesto, and now it is evening, it is time for the ‘fest noz’. The association is celebrating 50 years. It’s going to be a big night.
A little of my history. I worked in Morbihan as a teenager, which led me to a niche taste for Breton folk music from an early age. I loved the music to listen to for its own sake. Thirty years later I had a Damascene conversion to the many strands of continental folk dance, and I suddenly found out what all this fabulous music was for. I put myself through a bootcamp of dance workshops, and now the music was for both my ears and my feet. This summer, for the first time » Continue Reading.