An Dro The World

Some of Jeudi Matin - the Dansez Français house band - take part in 'An Dro The World 2012' - a mass simultaneous An Dro at the Festival Interceltique at Lorient, Brittany, and around the world, on Sunday 12 August. Everybody had to play, sing and/or dance to the same tune at precisely midnight, French time.

Note the soon-to-be traditional Breton instruments - concertina (Elizabeth and Charlotte) and ukelele (Éamonn), and the confident singing - Richard's the one in tune. Jan reckons it's too slow for dancing, so it's a good job we didn't have any dancers there on the night. Personally I reckon it's too fast for singing.

We only heard about An Dro The World a couple of days beforehand, and what with summer holidays, folk festivals and family commitments, we could only muster half-a-dozen people, but we registered anyway and went for it. A few minutes rehearsing the tune, and a couple of run-throughs for me and Richard to - almost - get our tongues round the words, and c'est parti!

Fest Noz à Ditchling

Sun 14 Oct
Ditchling

Mike James and Yves LeBlanc paid us their more or less annual visit - and gave us 3 hours of non-stop melodeon, clarinet and voices (not forgetting Mike's right-foot drum-beat), playing a wide range of popular Breton dances.

We've added this Andro, the Rond de Loudéac, and Madeleine onto the Dansez Français group on YouTube.

Dansez Français

Sat 26 May
Patcham Memorial Hall

Our monthly French & Breton Dance night - info. Chien Bizarre played, and everybody danced - plenty of new people, which was just as well because lots of regulars, including most of our musicians, had sidled off to Chippenham. Where I'm told it rained. And rained.

For starters as usual a set from Jeudi Matin (who meet on Wednesday mornings, of course).

Next session Sat 30 June - then break until September. Here's my Google Map.

Bernard Loffet

Sat 28 Apr
Cecil Sharp House

A GIG CB!* evening, with special guest Bernard Loffet playing accordion. Lots of lovely tunes, and a nice variety of Breton dances; he's one of those players that makes you ask why bother with fiddles, brass, guitars, percussion - just let Bernard play, that's all you need.

Bernard makes 9 models of diatonic accordion - see them in gorgeous array on his web-site.



For the last half-hour he came down from the stage and played, sang and led the dancing, all at once. A degree of co-ordination which I didn't quite manage with my camera-phone . . .

A lovely record too, which we listened to on the way back: Moteur!, with lots of the popular dances.

*The George Inn Giant Ceilidh Band