Fest Noz de Coat Favan 2022

Startijenn, TiTom, Plantec, Le Bour/Bodros and Ablain Kergus
Fest Noz is Breton for Night Feast and is sort of an equivalent to a Ceilidh or Barn Dance over here. There are however some differences. The music and dancing styles to begin with. Also there's none of this 'Can we have another couple for this set here, please?' thing going on. In Brittany they're on the floor waiting for the music to start.
The band usually announce what the dance will be just before each tune, whether that be a mazurka, a waltz, a loudeac, plinn, ridee, bourre or rond etc. The dances are a set series of steps and movements so there's no need for a caller or a run through before starting. A few are partnered dances; waltzes, schottisches, mazurkas etc but many are circle dances with the dancers linking little fingers or arms, stepping and arm swinging to the beat of the music. The music tells you what you should be doing.
There's something about a Fest Noz that's about community; everyone doing the same thing together in a large group, building ties and bridges. It's almost tribal. In some respects it can be likened to a rave. The continual, repetitive dance steps. The tunes that last six, seven, eight minutes long, almost inducing a trance state if you were to let it. I'm not really a dancer, but even I wanted to get in there and be a part of this amazing animal that was creating such a beautiful noise and energy.
This particular Fest Noz was held at a large, old farm, the Ville Herbelot near Le Haut-Corlay in central Brittany. It was the largest one we've ever been to and the energy was off the scale from both the bands and the dancers. There were two bars, a huge barbeque and lots of crepes too. The atmosphere was superb with over two thousand people up for a great night.
So here's a video of the Coat Favan Fest Noz, back after two years due to covid. I hope just some of the energy and joy that we experienced that night comes across.