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[Andrel]

Great news for fest-noz aficionados. I like the abundant alcohol consumption bit !

http://www.france24.com/en/20121205-unesco-breton-dancing-france-fest-noz

[Chris Ryall]

It's rather wonderful!  At about 14 or so I 'French exchanged' to N France, finally getting a Montparnasse train out to Brittany to join my own family on holiday.  The kids in the village there were dancing round in circles and singing in the street in the evening. Being a Yorkshire lad I thought 'hmmm .. interesting .. farmer's in his den stuff'.  Little did I know it was my first experience of a truly wonderful, but importantly, living tradition. 

.. 

[Rob2Hook]

Sounds like the kiss of death for Festoz, then.  The last UNESCO supported artistic act I saw was laid on by our French hosts and involved some **** playing with things that looked like a longbow for about an hour, tangling them together and leaving them strewn about.  Luckily no-one seemed to notice that the visiting morris side repaired to the nearest hostelry.  They were probably too far up their own a**es to notice.  If anyone starts to take daft things that seriously, no-one will be allowed to have a good time.

Rob.

P.S. Had a drink and now feeling much better!

[pikey]

Can we get Melnet added to the list of 'Intangible Cultural Heritage'    

[Nick Collis Bird]

Can we get Melnet added to the list of 'Intangible Cultural Heritage'    

Probably best to leave the last two words out of that title.

[Simon]

Great news for fest-noz aficionados. I like the abundant alcohol consumption bit !

I must have played at different fest-nozzes... it's usually just water to keep dancing for as long as possible 

[Andrel]

Depends where you go. I've been to plenty of pretty wet festou-noz in Central Brittany, but by and large, people tend to drink a lot less nowadays , and I am always amazed at how healthy the people dancing look, both physically and mentally. (I am sure it's also true for Morris sides). So, keep on dancing !

[diatosoldo]

Good thing Fest Noz earned official recognition ... But why only britton dance  ? I would have preferred it was traditional dancing in general ...
 On the vidéo, the instument played is "biniou koz"  : it is  typically britton (nothing to do with center France pipes ... a bit sharp tuned for my ears  though    ... but I'm not from Brittany ... brittons DO like it  ...)

[boisterous budgie]

Depends where you go. I've been to plenty of pretty wet festou-noz in Central Brittany, but by and large, people tend to drink a lot less nowadays , and I am always amazed at how healthy the people dancing look, both physically and mentally. (I am sure it's also true for Morris sides). So, keep on dancing !

In Belgium it seems to be "not done" to be drunk on the dance floor, which is nice. Etiquette for musicians isn't quite as strict.