The robust conventional French pleasure is properly 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 occurred in Saint-Chartier.
For the July competition, the tickets go on sale round early April yearly. The tickets, obtainable in just a few totally different codecs together with all-day competition cross (with/with out tenting), to day by day cross (with/with out tenting), are very reasonably priced, reflecting the balfolk scene’s ethos of preserving nice accessibility for all.
Location: Le château d’Ars, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire
The fort was first constructed within the 14th century for the Lords of Ars. With the world’s promotion to duchy in 1516, the fort 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, an in depth pal of George Sand, who attended Chopin close to his dying as a doctor, and introduced a lot festivity to the fort together with Sand. The fort options in her novel, “These lovely gents of Bois-Doré,” and she or he adored the placement. Her circle of relatives had roots in Nohant, now about seven minutes away by automotive, the place Sand and Chopin spent seven summers between 1839 and 1846.
Indre, filled with summer time bounty, grew to become 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 way 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 way of two bigger cities: Limoges (airport) and Chateauroux (prepare). The closest walkable city to the competition is La Châtre.
In the course of 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 most important summer time vacation weekend in France, Bastille Day, automotive rental from Limoges (particularly if you’re 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 fees 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 might even be attention-grabbing 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 normally 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 may be additionally an possibility of staying on the competition campground for a nominal payment. 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 vehicles 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 Truthful
Le Son Continu hosts one of many largest and most various assembly of luthiers, completely making folks devices. Coming from throughout Europe, fifes, drums, hurdygurdies, bagpipes (a selected pleasure of the area), bouzoukis, guitars, citterns and nyckelharpa of all kinds 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 great, and the relaxed environment makes the honest 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 get away in spontaneous dances everywhere in the floor.
There shall be many small classes 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 classes do characteristic one or two simple dances to ask everybody onto the stage.
In the course of the competition, there are competitions held every single 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 kinds, particularly Celtic and Balfolk; among the well-liked dance kinds embody: Bourrées, Waltz, Scottishes, Polka, Contra, Flemish Masurka, Polska and Gigue/Chapelloise.
Some dances are fairly intricate — if you’re curious about attending 2026 Le Son Continu, it will be an amazing concept to get in contact with Balfolk Toronto, which hosts common weekly balfolk dance classes and bals. Their main occasion, the Huge Department Pageant, will happen this September 5 to 7 close to Bancroft, Ontario.
Nonetheless, on the bals, because it’s custom to bop with many new companions, you may discover a pretty companion, 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 outdated folks, so when a hand is obtainable, it’s an excellent factor to take braveness and be a 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 site 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 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 varied devices and ensemble codecs, and recover from 600 dancers onto the ground, all night time lengthy.
Who ought to go?
For those who’ve been interested by medieval and conventional devices, this can be a excellent place to listen to all of them reside, and you could have a strive at a brand new instrument at a luthier’s stall.
For those who ever puzzled what occurred to the older dance kinds that we take heed to, that is your likelihood to see how the kinds survived time and historical past, and stay very 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 is able to be a superb cease, and it’s simple to include additional journey to different locations inside France because of the in depth rail system.
The fierce French dedication to native meals and wine, together with this pretty competition, is a good way to journey by way of the much less touristic, real fantastic thing about the French countryside, with nice soundtracks of the present balfolk scene, its deep roots buried in these superb devices —for musicians, grasp luthiers, and lovers of people tradition.
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Cecilia tumbled into ‘critical’ music research when she determined to keep away from attending medical college. At present 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.
