Le bal perdu - Leslie Barr
Dance Traditions from the Corners of France
Join us in welcoming Leslie Barr to the Alliance for an evening in two parts: first an introduction to the world of French folk music and dance with recordings made by Leslie during her travels in France, followed by a petit Bal with live music! Dansons ensemble !
Music live by Bob Walser and other musicians to be confirmed!
Circle dances and branles from centuries past; dances in lines and squares that trickled down to French villages from the contredanses of the Parisian court; 19th century couple dances with the radical idea that you can dance face to face with your partner…
These traditions of music and dance were once a part of everyday lives in rural France. People in each region had their own ways of dancing and their own music for the dance, reflecting the great variety of local cultures found across the country.
As France modernized, though, these traditions started to disappear. Tastes in music and dance changed, bagpipers and hurdy-gurdy players put away their instruments, and village dances became mostly a memory.
But the 1970’s brought a revival of interest in France’s many regional cultures, and now people all over the country are playing the old music and dancing the old dances, with both an eye on tradition and a remix for contemporary ears and feet.
With images and video, Leslie Barr will introduce you to these old and new traditions of music and dance and how such traditions help tell the story of the people of France’s many pays.
Le Bal Perdu will be open to the public for an entrance fee of $10.
Click the button to register!
Leslie Barr
Leslie Barr discovered French traditional music in the 1980s and has been traveling to France to play fiddle and dance ever since. She has attended countless bals, learning the dances of France’s many regions, and, with her academic background in ethnomusicology, has explored both the roots and the revival of French musique et danse populaire. She has given workshops in dance and music and played for balfolk dances throughout the Northeast.