Nibbins

Breton Dance

Breton Dance is the traditional dance of the French region of Bretagne.

Overview

In the agricultural society of the 19th Century, the most common occasion on which dancing took place was a wedding. Other opportunities for dancing were:

• beating the earth floor of a new house or repairing a damaged beaten earth floor
• preparing a threshing floor
• celebrations following agricultural work (such as a harvest festival)
• secular celebrations accompanying a religious festival (such as a pardon)

More recently, throughout the second half of the 20th Century, a revival of traditional Breton dancing has taken place, to such an extent that it can now be considered to be at the forefront of contemporary Breton cultural expression, along with the music which accompanies it.

Two main opportunities exist to experience Breton dance: fest-noz (night festival) and fest-deiz (day festival). The former reunites both young and old in a celebration of their cultural heritage, whereas the latter tends to be frequented by a somewhat older collection of people. Moreover, the range of dances found at a fest-noz is likely to be smaller; at a fest-deiz the full variety of Breton dance can often be seen, including dances in fours and eights which rarely get an outing at a fest-noz.

Breton dance is accompanied by musicians and singers playing and singing in duos, trios, quartets and, sometimes, even larger groups. Traditional acoustic instruments are often the mainstay of these occasions, though some groups have also taken up electric instruments as well. The most ubiquitous instruments are the accordion and two characteristically Breton wind instruments – the biniou (a kind of bagpipe) and the bombarde (a reed instrument similar to the oboe).

Dances

Basse-Bretagne

Jean-Michel Guilcher distinguishes between five fundamental dances in the region of Basse-Bretagne. These are described as the "mother-forms" from whose ancient roots numerous variants have been developed, to such an extent sometimes that the original can hardly be recognised. These five forms are:

• la gavotte
• l'en dro
• la dañs Treger
• la dañs Leon
• la dañs tro plinn

La gavotte (also known as dañs tro) is a dance in four time. It is the dance with the most variants and can be considered to include kost ar c'hoad and suite fisel. It is associated with a large geographical region, which includes Cornouaille and the north-west of the Pays de Léon. The gavotte is the most widespread of all Breton dances. Originally, the dancers formed a closed circle, and this is still largely true today. Alternatively, particularly at festoù-noz, it is also danced in long, circling lines throughout the hall.

L'en dro was originally a dance of the area around the city of Vannes, in the south of Basse-Bretagne. It is a dance in four time. To it can be added its sister dance - l'hanter dro. These two dances are sometimes combined to form a third, known as la dañs tricot.

La dañs Treger is a dance from the Trégor region and fell into disuse at the end of the 19th Century. Research into the dance has nevertheless enabled a reconstruction of its main features, which are similar to those of dances found in the Pays Gallo (Penthièvre, Mené, Loudéac).

La dañs Leon is a dance from the north of Finistère which features two lines of men and women, face to face, progressing in parallel.

La dañs tro plinn is a dance whose origin is uncertain. Like the gavotte, it is a dance where the participants are linked in circles or lines, each dancer connected to his or her neighbour by the characteristic hold of bras dessus, bras dessous (arm over, arm under).

Haute-Bretagne

The study of the dances of Haute-Bretagne was not made until more recent times and there is thus no fundamental study of these dances comparable to that of Guilcher's research into Basse-Bretagne. There is consequently little certitude about the practice of these dances before the start of the 20th Century.

Dances in the fashion of l'en dro

These can be found to the south-west of Basse-Bretagne in the elongation of the Pays Vannetais. They include:

• rond
• tour
• pilé-menu

The structure of these dances suggests a similarity with the en dro of Basse-Bretagne, with variations in movements or arm holds.

Les ronds or rondes

Different pays in the region have given birth to different dances:

• les ronds du Penthièvre, de l'Oust, du Lié, du Mené
• les ronds du type guérandais
• le rond de Saint-Vincent
• les ronds isolés

Les ronds du Penthièvre, de l'Oust, du Lié, du Mené: one of the most well-known dances from this group is the rond de Loudéac. Strictly speaking, the rond de Loudéac is a suite, usually of four dances: rond-bal-rond-riquegnée. The fourth of these is a kind of passepied.

Les ronds du type guérandais are to be found in the districts situated between the estauary of the river Vilaine and the Loire. They often feature two distinct parts, one more sedate and the other more vigorous, within the same dance.

Le rond de Saint-Vincent is a popular dance comprising only one part.

Les ronds isolés: a category which includes dances such as le rond de Sautron, le rond d'Erquy, les ronds de Châteaubriant.

Les passepieds

These dances were common throughout a large geographocal area, in particular the west of the Trégor. A form of the passepied (pach pi) is found in Haute-Cornouaille.

External links

• Official site (French & English versions)