Festivals
The South-West is a land of festivals! Jazz fans won't want to miss a trip to Gironde and Landes. Every July, the Andernos Jazz Festival hosts three days of music in the pretty seaside resort of Andernos-les-Bains. Since its inception in 1968, international jazz concerts and street parades have enlivened the town's mid-summer streets. All the squares and the pier are invaded by music. The same atmosphere prevails in the Landes region with Jazz in Sanguinet. For four days, this Landes town is transformed into a jazzy village. Concerts take place at Espace Gemme, a typical Landes farmhouse full of charm. In the Basque Country, classical music takes center stage at the Biarritz Piano Festival. For over ten years, this cultural event has established itself as one of the most important in the region. In September, this sublime seaside town also hosts a superb dance festival: Le temps d'aimer la danse. The town, renowned for its choreographic center, the Malandain Ballet Biarritz, welcomes French and international companies each year to turn the streets into stages open to passers-by. During the day, the dancers rehearse their choreographies, offering eclectic, free performances. A not-to-be-missed event! A true source of inspiration, this festival created by the president of Biarritz Culture with the participation of the municipality combines exhibitions, workshops, film screenings and, of course, grandiose shows. In Bordeaux, the spotlight is on music, with the Climax festival at Darwin, the Festival des Hauts de Garonne at the Rocher de Palmer, which showcases world music, and the Relâche festival, which takes place every summer in the city. Another multi-disciplinary festival is the Festival International des Arts de Bordeaux Métropole (FAB). The program is always surprising, featuring theater, dance, performance, circus, music and visual arts.
Traditional music and songs
Song, dance and musical instruments are all part of the region's heritage. Traditional Basque songs, whose origins date back to the Middle Ages, are among the most emblematic in France, as is bertso, a typical improvisation song. They are sometimes accompanied by instruments such as the trikiti (or trikitixa), a diatonic accordion. In Gascony, the Landes bagpipe, known as the boha, is one of the area's most representative instruments, played mainly in the Landes forest. This wind instrument is a kind of double clarinet, and can be played polyphonically. The boha was very popular in the 19th century, played by one or two musicians (the bohaire) at local festivals. It has been revived since the 1970s. Alongside it are the violin, traditionally played in the Béarn region but introduced to the Landes in the 19th century, as well as the tambourine (also played in the Basque country under the name soïna), the flute, the chalemine and the clari. If you'd like to find out more about the region's traditional singing and musical instruments, the Fédération Girondine des Associations de Danses et Musiques Traditionnelles (Gironde Federation of Traditional Music and Dance Associations) lists all the practices on its website. Since its creation in 1994, it has been working to promote these arts to as many people as possible. You'll also find a full calendar of upcoming events to help you prepare for your visit to the Aquitaine coast.
The banda band
How can we talk about music without mentioning the banda? The banda is a kind of strolling brass band that originated between the towns of Dax and Bayonne. It's a term associated with festivities! It's during the ferias that you'll be able to see the bandas wandering freely through the streets of the Landes and Basques. Brass, woodwind and percussion instruments play traditional music during these festivities. A tradition throughout the Gascony region. Paquito is also played to the rhythm of the banda. Part dance, part sporting game, this south-western custom comes from the ferias. You know the principle? Several people sitting one behind the other on the ground carry one of the participants lying on top of them at arm's length. During the festivities, you'll hear Paquito el Chocolatero, a classic played by the bandas of the South-West. Composed in 1937, this paso doble has become an essential soundtrack.
The Dances of Gascony
The Aquitaine coast is a land of tradition. Belonging to the same culture is expressed through dance. Traditional dances are part of the local heritage. Congò is one of these dances, which can be found throughout much of Gascony, particularly in the Landes department, in the Grande-Lande and Marsan areas. Inspired by English contredanses, this country dance is based on a highly codified movement of dancers, arranged in a circle or square. Congò is danced by fours: two couples face each other. The Landes region of Gascony is also attached to another dance: the rondeau. Traditionally, this dance was an opportunity for neighbors to socialize on the occasion of festivals, weddings, carnivals... For a long time, it was one of the most popular dances in the Landes region, whether in the closed form(rondo barrada) or the open form(rondo aubèrta), which was performed in short chains or in couples forming a circle. There are many variations, depending on the village or the improvisation of the dancers. Today, a number of associations are helping people rediscover these traditional dances through discovery courses and events. This is particularly true of the Association pour la Culture Populaire dans les Landes, which frequently organizes cultural events.
The dances of the Basque Country
The Basque Country also has a strong dance identity. Dances are an integral part of traditional festivals and form an integral part of Basque culture. There are said to be almost 200 different dances in the territory, not counting the variations! While we can't list them all, we have selected a few. The most emblematic is undoubtedly the fandango, used for official ceremonies. Originating in the Basque provinces of Spain, it is danced to a waltz rhythm. Mutxiko, also known as Basque jumping, is a circular leg dance, codified by very precise movements. In the province of Soule, the smallest of the seven territories of the Basque Country, the masquerade is practiced. It's a form of theater performed, sung and danced in the open air and on the move. A highly impressive ensemble of dances in costume: the "mascaradiers" are all dressed up, the dancers in red and the agitators in black, to stunning effect. The dancers defy gravity and the elements, particularly in theGodalet dantza (glass dance), where the dancer is judged on his or her ability to avoid knocking over the glass at his or her feet. The show runs from late January to Easter Sunday. Interested? If you'd like to see it during your stay on the Aquitaine coast, visit the Institut Culturel Basque website. You'll find plenty of information and a full calendar of events.
The theater
In addition to the masquerade, the Souletine pastorale, which is performed in Soule, is a form of Basque popular theater. Heir to the theaters of the Middle Ages, pastorale has been back in fashion since the 1950s. Pastoral plays are performed in the open air: in a meadow or sometimes against a Basque pelota court. These sung plays often oscillate between tragedy and comedy, always with a positive ending and a few comic episodes. They depict the life of a Basque character, around a historical or religious theme, inspired by medieval stories and adapted to our contemporary world. The show is performed in the Basque language and lasts almost three hours, during which song and dance take center stage. The special feature? All the actors are amateurs! Local villagers volunteer their time over the course of a year to produce a play for two unique performances. The practice has been listed as part of France's intangible cultural heritage since 2018.
In the Landes and Gironde regions, there is no similar theatrical tradition. Nevertheless, a number of companies are based in the region, attracting large audiences every year. In the capital of Gironde, more than a hundred theater companies have set up shop. Circus has not been forgotten! It was in the commune of Labenne that the Le Roux company was created in 2014. Since then, these extraordinary artists have enjoyed huge success all over the world. And with good reason, the works are dazzling, both cinematically and aesthetically. High-flying acrobatics performed by circus virtuosos Lolita Costet, Grégory Arsenal, Philip Rosenberg and Yannick Thomas. Also in the Landes region, the C.K.C. (Clown Kitch Compagnie) company promotes the lesser-known art of clowning. One Saturday every two months, the company offers clown enthusiasts the chance to learn the techniques of clowning.
