The sturdy conventional French pleasure is effectively 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 beautiful 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 happened in Saint-Chartier.
For the July competition, the tickets go on sale round early April yearly. The tickets, obtainable in just a few completely different codecs together with all-day competition cross (with/with out tenting), to day by day cross (with/with out tenting), are very inexpensive, reflecting the balfolk scene’s ethos of maintaining 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 good friend 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 stunning gents of Bois-Doré,” and he or she adored the placement. Her family had roots in Nohant, now about seven minutes away by automotive, 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 delivery 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 develop into a central summer time celebration for all who love conventional folks dance and music.
Journey to Le Son Continu
Le château d’Ars will be accessed by means of two bigger cities: Limoges (airport) and Chateauroux (prepare). The closest walkable city to the competition is La Châtre.
Throughout the competition, there are restricted bus service from Chateauroux, with an area 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, automotive rental from Limoges (particularly in case you are flying into Limoges) or Chateauroux (about 40km one-way), stands out as the most sensible resolution.
There are minimally organized carpools on social media and on the competition website itself, and native taxis can be found, although the costs will be eye-watering. The really decided can stroll to La Châtre for some purchasing/espresso, et cetera, however take warning that the excessive summer time central French solar will be fierce.
It could even be attention-grabbing for biking followers to examine the Tour de France route, as Chateauroux is usually 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 obtainable at La Châtre, and there are industrial campgrounds close to the competition. There’s additionally an possibility of staying on the competition campground for a nominal charge. Walkers and drivers share the lot, and you could convey your personal tenting/automotive keep gear.
There are environmentally pleasant bogs (which get topped with contemporary sawdust), and bathe stalls can be found. Each morning, an area bio store will convey restricted provisions to the competition gate, together with contemporary pastries and fruits, with a scorching espresso and tea stall. There are meals vans and providers obtainable 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 Honest
Le Son Continu hosts one of many largest and most diverse meeting of luthiers, solely making folks devices. Coming from throughout Europe, fifes, drums, hurdygurdies, bagpipes (a specific pleasure of the area), bouzoukis, guitars, citterns and nyckelharpa of all types can be found for try-outs, and buy.
This yr, over 140 luthiers made the journey, and it’s nice to see such a practice being continued with nice power. The craftsmanship is excellent, and the relaxed environment makes the truthful a real residing expertise.
Music and Dance
There are numerous bands assigned for the 4 official phases — one for music efficiency, and three for bands and dancing. Nonetheless, because the title suggests, the music by no means actually stops through the 4 days, and folks typically escape in spontaneous dances all around the floor.
There will probably 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, completely different phases will cater to completely different ranges of dancing, however all periods do characteristic one or two straightforward dances to ask everybody onto the stage.
Throughout the competition, there are competitions held daily for musicians; one can catch them based on 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 number of the standard dance types embrace: Bourrées, Waltz, Scottishes, Polka, Contra, Flemish Masurka, Polska and Gigue/Chapelloise.
Some dances are fairly intricate — in case you are keen on attending 2026 Le Son Continu, it will be an important concept to get in contact with Balfolk Toronto, which hosts common weekly balfolk dance periods and bals. Their main occasion, the Massive Department Competition, will happen this September 5 to 7 close to Bancroft, Ontario.
Nonetheless, on the bals, because it’s custom to bounce with many new companions, you may discover a beautiful companion, or a number of, to stretch your creativeness and dance abilities. Not like 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 part of them!
The midnight bal is a significant draw of the competition. As households with younger youngsters retreat to sleep after a protracted 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.
Going down 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 yr, the competition featured music from Auvergne, Massif Central, Occitan-Provençal, Gascogne, Sardinia, and Burgundy. Every group, fiercely pleased with their regional roots, will convey numerous devices and ensemble codecs, and recover from 600 dancers onto the ground, all evening lengthy.
Who ought to go?
For those who’ve been interested by medieval and conventional devices, this can be a excellent spot to listen to all of them dwell, and you might have a strive at a brand new instrument at a luthier’s stall.
For those who ever questioned what occurred to the older dance types that we hearken to, that is your probability to see how the types 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 straightforward 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 beautiful 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 present working within the area 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.
