The sturdy conventional French delight is nicely alive at Le Son Continu, a four-day weekend competition of social dance, ‘folks bals’, regional delicacies and farm producers, music, and grasp instrument makers.
Individuals collect yearly on the coronary heart of France, within the pretty Le château d’Ars, Indre, Loire, over the Bastille Day lengthy weekend; 2026 dates are: July 11 – 14, marking the fiftieth anniversary of the assembly of grasp luthiers and musicians which first befell in Saint-Chartier.
For the July competition, the tickets go on sale round early April yearly. The tickets, accessible in just a few totally different codecs together with all-day competition go (with/with out tenting), to each day go (with/with out tenting), are very inexpensive, reflecting the balfolk scene’s ethos of holding nice accessibility for all.
Location: Le château d’Ars, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire
The citadel was first constructed within the 14th century for the Lords of Ars. With the realm’s promotion to duchy in 1516, the citadel was transformed within the Renaissance type. It was acquired shortly earlier than the Revolution by two rich native farmers, Jean-Baptiste and Jacques Papet.
It was Jean-Baptiste’s grandson, Gustave Papet, a detailed buddy of George Sand, who attended Chopin close to his demise as a doctor, and introduced a lot festivity to the citadel together with Sand. The citadel options in her novel, “These lovely gents of Bois-Doré,” and he or she adored the placement. Her circle of relatives had roots in Nohant, now about seven minutes away by automobile, the place Sand and Chopin spent seven summers between 1839 and 1846.
Indre, stuffed with summer time bounty, turned a centre level of the centenary of the beginning of George Sand in 1976. This primary competition, Les Rencontres Internationales de Luthiers et Maîtres-Sonneurs later moved to Château d’Ars.
After a little bit of waxing and waning, the present competition went by means of a significant revival in January 2014, and since then, it has grow to be a central summer time celebration for all who love conventional folks dance and music.
Journey to Le Son Continu
Le château d’Ars might be accessed by means of two bigger cities: Limoges (airport) and Chateauroux (practice). The closest walkable city to the competition is La Châtre.
Through the competition, there are restricted bus service from Chateauroux, with a neighborhood bus cease about half-hour away from Le château d’Ars; nonetheless, because the competition takes place over the largest summer time vacation weekend in France, Bastille Day, automobile rental from Limoges (particularly in case you are flying into Limoges) or Chateauroux (about 40km one-way), stands out as the most sensible answer.
There are minimally organized carpools on social media and on the competition website itself, and native taxis can be found, although the costs might be eye-watering. The really decided can stroll to La Châtre for some procuring/espresso, et cetera, however take warning that the excessive summer time central French solar might be fierce.
It might even be fascinating for biking followers to verify the Tour de France route, as Chateauroux is commonly featured within the tour phases; the 2026 Tour will begin in Spain after which cross over beginning in stage 4. The precise routes for 2026 are introduced often a month earlier than the Tour.
Staying for the competition
There are lodging accessible at La Châtre, and there are industrial campgrounds close to the competition. There may be additionally an possibility of staying on the competition campground for a nominal charge. Walkers and drivers share the lot, and you have to carry your personal tenting/automobile keep gear.
There are environmentally pleasant bathrooms (which get topped with recent sawdust), and bathe stalls can be found. Each morning, a neighborhood bio store will carry restricted provisions to the competition gate, together with recent pastries and fruits, with a sizzling espresso and tea stall. There are meals vehicles and providers accessible on the competition, each worldwide and French native delicacies. The beer tent goes on all through the night, serving the thirsty musicians and dancers of the midnight bal, into the wee hours.
Luthiers and Instrument Truthful
Le Son Continu hosts one of many largest and most diversified assembly of luthiers, completely making folks devices. Coming from throughout Europe, fifes, drums, hurdygurdies, bagpipes (a specific delight of the area), bouzoukis, guitars, citterns and nyckelharpa of all kinds can be found for try-outs, and buy.
This 12 months, over 140 luthiers made the journey, and it’s nice to see such a practice being continued with nice vitality. The craftsmanship is excellent, and the relaxed environment makes the truthful a real dwelling expertise.
Music and Dance
There are numerous bands assigned for the 4 official phases — one for music efficiency, and three for bands and dancing. Nevertheless, because the title suggests, the music by no means actually stops in the course of the 4 days, and other people typically get away in spontaneous dances all around the floor.
There can be many small periods going down at picnic tables, close to the luthiers’ exhibition areas, and the competition will erect just a few casual phases with partial programming along with the bigger phases. Starting from tremendous conventional medieval bands to new, crossover balfolk music teams, totally different phases will cater to totally different ranges of dancing, however all periods do characteristic one or two simple dances to ask everybody onto the stage.
Through the competition, there are competitions held each day for musicians; one can catch them in response to the competition schedule, and see what the brilliant expertise’s been as much as.
The music focuses largely on French, Breton, and different European types, particularly Celtic and Balfolk; a few of the fashionable dance kinds embody: Bourrées, Waltz, Scottishes, Polka, Contra, Flemish Masurka, Polska and Gigue/Chapelloise.
Some dances are fairly intricate — in case you are curious about attending 2026 Le Son Continu, it could be an important thought to get in contact with Balfolk Toronto, which hosts common weekly balfolk dance periods and bals. Their main occasion, the Huge Department Pageant, will happen this September 5 to 7 close to Bancroft, Ontario.
Nevertheless, on the bals, because it’s custom to bounce with many new companions, you may discover a pretty associate, or a number of, to stretch your creativeness and dance expertise. In contrast to most dance occasions, bals are very open, inviting really the very younger to previous folks, so when a hand is obtainable, it’s a great factor to take braveness and be a part of them!
The midnight bal is a significant draw of the competition. As households with younger kids retreat to sleep after an extended day of music and dancing, the younger, excited dancers will fill out the bottom with a strolling visitors jam to get in at 11 p.m.
Happening on the La Pommeraie/Apple Orchard, the bal historically options two bands, midnight to 2 a.m., then 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. or later, for Fri/Sat/Sunday, then one at 11 p.m. for Monday.
This 12 months, the competition featured music from Auvergne, Massif Central, Occitan-Provençal, Gascogne, Sardinia, and Burgundy. Every group, fiercely pleased with their regional roots, will carry varied devices and ensemble codecs, and recover from 600 dancers onto the ground, all night time lengthy.
Who ought to go?
In the event you’ve been interested in medieval and conventional devices, it is a excellent spot to listen to all of them reside, and you will have a strive at a brand new instrument at a luthier’s stall.
In the event you ever puzzled what occurred to the older dance kinds that we take heed to, that is your probability to see how the kinds survived time and historical past, and stay important in devoted dancers’ steps.
If experiencing French tradition intimately — if the character, gastronomy, the regional really feel of central France ticks your field — this could be a wonderful cease, and it’s simple to include additional journey to different locations inside France because of the intensive rail system.
The fierce French dedication to native meals and wine, together with this pretty competition, is an effective way to journey by means of the much less touristic, real great thing about the French countryside, with nice soundtracks of the present balfolk scene, its deep roots buried in these wonderful devices —for musicians, grasp luthiers, and lovers of people tradition.
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Cecilia tumbled into ‘severe’ music research when she determined to keep away from attending medical college. At the moment working within the subject of classical music, recording, and Korean-English interpretation, she tends to get her nostril soiled in many alternative issues within the metropolis. Cecilia holds a DMA in Piano Efficiency from the College of Nebraska-Lincoln.
