Local dances
For more than sixty years now, the Escloupeto de Rodez has been telling the story of the Rouergate peasantry and life in the countryside from 1820 to 1880. In those days, young girls wore a petticoat and a camisole. Crowned with a beautiful headdress, their only jewel was a holy spirit around their neck. As undergarments, which were always white, they wore a panti or pisse-droit - so called because it had a hole in the crotch! The men were also beautifully harnessed. Bridge trousers, flannel belt, linen shirt, waistcoat or blouse, gaiters and hat. On the feet, clogs for all, regardless of gender. Today, it is still this costume that the dancers and musicians of the Escloupeto of Rodez wear, especially when they dance the bourrée, a bell clutched to the ankle. This dance in three beats, their favourite, comes in several versions which have a different meaning. Some are intended to seduce; others reproduce the movement of a press for example. But all are accompanied by the tune of an accordion, hurdy-gurdy or cabrette. These instruments are emblematic of Aveyron folklore. So much so that a museum is entirely dedicated to them!
Characteristic instruments
It is Vines, a preserved village in the commune of Cantoin, between Laguiole, Chaudes-Aigues and Mur-de-Barrez, which houses the Maison de la cabrette et des traditions populaires de l'Aubrac (House of the cabrette and the popular traditions of Aubrac), in a beautiful building made of local stone. In 2009, André Ricros, an expert in traditional music, and André Raynal, then mayor of Cantoin, imagined together this unique house. United by their love of the country and respect for their ancestors, these two strong personalities worked for three years to design this place dedicated to Aubrac and its wealth, its know-how and its cultural heritage. Cabrettes, accordions, hurdy-gurdies, but also objects, documents and audiovisuals... The museum's collections now include dozens of musical instruments from the 19th and 20th centuries, including over 200 cabrettes. This lively museum also presents a reconstruction of the old workshop of a cabret maker dating from the 19th century and a temporary exhibition space. Inside, Jean-Louis Claveyrole, cabrette maker in Mels, and curator of the place, welcomes the public. Since 2018 and a first extension of the building, the premises also house bagpipes from around the world.
Music today
Today, music still plays a major role in Aveyron's culture. Most towns have a brass band or a wind band, a branch of the national school of music and numerous musical groups. Highlights such as Tout le monde contre le cancer in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, the Estivada in Rodez (crossroads of the cultures of the Oc), the Cap Festival, a travelling music festival (rock and contemporary music), to name but a few, punctuate the musical life of the department. These events are real stages where the best groups meet.
Some places have even acquired their letters of nobility like Sylvanès which is known on a European scale as the major centre of sacred music. It is a place where teaching takes place but also where the acoustics of the abbey allow the recording of many musical supports. The department also has a very high level departmental choir, which develops amateur practice and multiplies performances, particularly in rural areas.
From traditional music to rock, from folk repertoire to classical music, all styles of music are represented in the department and it is clear that a new generation of musicians of a very high level is emerging and actively participating in the cultural life of Aveyron. It is the case of the rapper Lombre who is famous in his register beyond the departmental borders. He was notably the winner of the Claude Nougaro writing prize in 2016 and received support from Big Flo and Oli. In 2021, this artist made in Aveyron released "La lumière du Noir", a six-track EP inspired by the work of painter Pierre Soulages.Theatres
The Aveyron, contrary to the large agglomerations nearby -Toulouse, Montpellier, Clermont-Ferrand- do not have large theatres. The department relies more on human-sized structures whose programming offers beautiful moments of culture to the inhabitants of the territory. Rodez and its Amphitheatre, with a total capacity of 2,500 seats, relies on eclecticism with national headliners -Francis Cabrel, Hugues Aufray or Patrick Fiori are the latest-, comedians, circus, hypnosis shows, classical music
...In Rodez, the MJC stands out with a cultural season essentially dedicated to theatre. Nearby, in Onet-le-Château, La Baleine, the municipal theatre, also has a programme more focused on live performances, with theatre, dance and humour - including the Rire Onet festival, every year in September.
The Club in Rodez, a former cinema hall rehabilitated as a concert hall and creative centre by the Oc'Live association, can also boast of a great dynamism. The structure welcomes musicians and companies in residence; and receives the public within its walls on the occasion of festivals, concerts and other actions for all.
And because dance, music and theatre are powerful levers for the image of a territory, its attractiveness and its dynamism, certain municipalities or associations play an essential role in this sense, by endeavouring to enrich people's lives through access to culture and, more generally, to conviviality. One example is the multi-cultural hall of Les Tilleuls in Arvieu, whose 114 tiered seats and audiovisual equipment allow many events in this rural village. But also the historical troupe of the Comédiens au chariot -it was born in 1952- which regularly plays in its tiny auditorium of the prefecture, and carries its caravan and its popular but quality theatre in all the countryside of the department.
