Breton Dance

The Breton dances are the dances practiced traditionally in Brittany. Very diverse in their forms and their origins, one would count some more than four hundreds.

The great majority of the dances, especially oldest, are dances of group, in round or procession.

However dance-plays exist or were imported: Nantes Gallop, Jilgodenn, Circle circassien, cochinchine,…, etc

In the same way, the repertory regularly adopts dances in couples come besides (circle circassien, Scottish, Valse, of which the Scottish Valse, etc).

Sometimes these dances have a durable success and are integrated in the traditional repertory, sometimes they do nothing but pass under the effect of the mode (e.g. the Bourrée auvergnate in the Années 1990).

Context and pretexts

What one calls today " dance bretonne" is consisted of the old traditional dance practiced by the country mediums of Brittany until in the inter-war period.

In the country company of the XIXe century, the special occasionss of dance were mainly the weddings, which could sometimes join together 2 to 300 people (sometimes to 1.000 people): gavottes of honors, etc In addition to these rejoicings, only Sundays could give place to dances, particularly when there were forgiveness which were always accompanied by profane festivals.

work and leisures were closely dependant. One sang and one danced between neighbors to rest itself after the agricultural work, the drudgeries Also the peasants gave each other pretexts to dance:

to beat on the surface to beat
to harden the ground ground beaten of a new house
to repair a beaten ground ground
the drudgeries
festivals evenings of agricultural work
the weddings

If the weddings are excluded, the other occasions were only pretexts; .

Today, with share in the Celtic circles where they represent the principal activity, the Breton dances are danced primarily in the balls folk, the festoù-noz, the festoù-deiz and to a lesser extent in the marriages. They remain a popular distraction.

Accompaniment

Traditionally, the Breton dances were accompanied either by a couple by bell ringers (Biniou - bombards or a combination between bagpipe, bombards, Accordéon and Vielle with wheel) or by one or more singers. The Clarinette and the Violon have them also an important place in the history of the Breton music even if their arrival is later.

In certain soils, the two types of accompaniment (sung and musical) met, in particular in High-Brittany and in the Pays vannetais.

Today, of new musical instruments the groups Fest-noz, more traditional integrated into most modern: percussions African, Guitar S of the whole world, violin to the accents of the east, electro, coppers… as many different and original sounds but which integrate and are used for wonder the spirit of the Breton dances.

Instruments

The bagpipe kozh appeared at the 18th century and supplanted the Veuze before being itself more or less supplanted by the Scottish Biniou braz at the 20th century.

At the 19th century the Violon supplanted the bagpipe in certain areas before being replaced by the Accordéon. At the same time, the Clarinette fact are appearance.

The Vielle with wheel was used in the Coast-of-North.

Without forgetting obviously the bombards, instrument wind resembles (from an esthetic point of view) a short clarinet. It produces a particularly strong sound.

Song

Men and women could sing in Kan ha diskan, one and the other tuilant phrased of the partner by taking again the end. Kan ha diskan was practiced (other than the couple bagpipe-bombards or not) on a very broad surface recovering Cornwall more or less.

In High Brittany existed songs to answer (which differ from the kan-ha-diskan by the absence of Tuilage) as well as songs tens. The songs with tens developed at the 19th century. They include/understand a verse which is repeated: with each iteration, the number is décrémenté of one. In vannetais gallo, the song clearly carried it on the instrumental accompaniment.

The bell ringers were often professionals who officiated in Breton-speaking country and country gallo. They were often millers (who had more spare times) and which were rather badly seen because they were famous to allure the young girls.

Leaders

In Kan ha diskan, the singers and/or musicians make the call (slow melody or air chantonné at fallback speed on the lalalala ) in order to attract the dancers in the round. Men and women stick arm-top/arm-below and form a chain traditionally carried out and closed by a man with each end.

In high Brittany, the singer (who often integrates the dance) is the leader of the dance and all the " group; réponds" in chorus.

However, when there were famous dancers (often the same family from generation to generation), there were two leaders: one, the singer, for the air to be sung, training the dancers to answer, the other, the considered dancer, in order to carry out the chain or the round.

Origin

The origins of the Breton dances are very varied. The multiplicity of the alternatives, of the evolutions, the existence of dance-mothers and dance-girls makes Breton dances a very muddled table.

The Middle Ages

Historically, also far one can go up (i.e. with the Renaissance), there existed two Breton dances:

the gavotte
the Passepied

Perhaps the gavottes (including the kost rear it hoad and the continuation Fisel), derive from the Breton Trihori S described in the Orchésographie of Thoinot Arbeau.

The passepieds would come from the Moyen-âge (like probably the equivalent in Breton-speaking territory, the Pach pi).

Influences of the swings of the Rebirth

Starting from the Rebirth, the Branle S were little by little propagated court towards the popular classes, probably via noble and the imitation.

The simple swings gave the To haunt-dro, the Trigotine gallo,…

The double swings (which derive from older rounds) gave the Year-dro, the turn, the Crushed-finely, the Rond of Saint-Vincent, the rounds guérandais, the Against-round S, the round pagan,…

The Dañs Plinn , the Round of Landeda and the Rond of Loudéac would also derive from the Branle S gays of French influence.

The Avant-deux, like the Guédenne S, go down from the square (which themselves derive from the squares which derive themselves from the Contredanse S of French influence). In some guédennes, the rider raises its riding.

It should be noted that the swings influenced the soils of dance in all Europe (Asturies, Romania,…) and even the Brazil.

Dances of group to the individual dances

The Breton dances are dances said Community: everyone dances together. But today, rounds and chains also cotoient dances in couple or quadrette.

Starting from the middle of the 19th century, the evolution of the dances was increasingly fast, according to the evolution of the company (industrial revolution, modification of the means of transport, influence growing of the cities,…). With regard to the dance, one notes the appearance of new dances, the creation of local alternatives (to be put in parallel with the diversification and the brutal evolution of the caps) and a standardization of the costumes in each country which thus with final created an identification with a soil more marked much.

The acceleration of transport and the decompartmentalization of the countries (for example, the clearing of the moors of Lanveaux by Nantes) allowed a mixing of the dances and airs accompanying them. Collecting as well as the work of the Celtic circles contributed also much to this diffusion through all Brittany.

Beside these new dances appear individual dances, which make it possible to emphasize the riding ones. They are is:

created starting from traditional dances
introduced since other soils (generally under the influence of the mode of the cities): avant-deux, Mazurka S, Hammer S, Scottish be.

Other derivations

The wrinkled derive To hauntit: they appeared at the 19th century.

The Round of Landeda for dance-mother laridé the 6 time of the country vannetais of which it is different by a movement from arm reduced to a simple swinging. It thus closer to the dance mother of the whole of is laridés which is to haunt it dro.

The Dañs Leon is undoubtedly the oldest dance of the Leon. Identical following dance of Trégor in its form, it remotely by a step in 8 times of the family of the gavottes while the continuation of dance of Trégor uses the step of the soils of Penthièvre, the Plinn country and Loudéc.

The Dañs Sizun and the Bal of Jugon derive from the Bal S and old Aéroplane S.

The Kas-a-barh drift of the Year-dro under the influence of the evolution of the company.

Evolution

The majority of the old dances were in rounds; dances in couples ( dañs kof has kof ) being badly seen in the majority of the places.

Since the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the fashion and the style of the dances follow the evolution of the company which passes gradually from the community life to individualism. The rounds open in chains, the couples have established among in the dance, the balls with 2, the dances in couples… multiply.

A certain number of rounds (in particular gavottes) opened and thus accelerated.

The Ronde of the Low-Leon becomes a procession of couples in the Gavotte de Lannilis.

The day before the First World War, the Year-dro evolved/moved with figures in couple (reversal one towards the other, jump of riding, to make whirl its riding,…). After the war, this evolution had led in Kas-a-barh which had become a dance distinct from the Year-dro.

The Kas-a-barh and the Cercle circassien know evolutions in processions.

The Catch of Guingamp (fine of 19th), the Dañs Kef and the Jimnaska (beginning of 20th) are also recent dances.

External bonds

relatively exhaustive Site on the subject
Another description of the Breton dances
More than 40 pages of explanations, a hundred photographs, vidéos to know how functions a group of spectacles of Breton dances
Internet site of a researcher on the popular dance of tradition in high-Brittany
Page Brittany on the site of Annick Bideault - the dances of Ball Folk

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