Category: centre-val-de-loire

Bal Trad gathers CHNUT, the compagnie Nepeta and the Relais des Pas Sages for a Berry dance celebration. The workshops teach bourrées and introduce the branles d’Écueillé. A Berry jam welcomes everyone, while Feules, Babek, the duo Jolivet-Langlois and a violin ensemble provide music for dancing. The menu includes goat-cheese croques and potato galettes.

Olivier Geneste examines the church murals of the Brenne in an art-history talk. The paintings span Romanesque work and later decoration. The discussion also introduces Michel Maupoix’s book on this religious heritage, illustrated by Anthony Perrot. Perrot’s photographs are on display in a related exhibition, connecting the book’s images with the region’s painted churches.

Hedgerow preservation and care are the subject of this lecture. Dominique Mansion, a specialist in pollarded trees, illustrated Flore forestière française. The discussion considers hedges’ role in sustaining biodiversity and helping ecosystems withstand climate change. It also examines the arbres têtards that distinguish the bocage of the Vienne Valley.

Bourrée, polka, maraîchine, mazurka, chapeloise and rondeau make up this practical folk dance workshop in La Châtre. Laurent Papon guides participants through the steps and choreography. Dances for pairs, fours and groups offer different ways to join in, with cultural variations explored along the way. Everyone is welcome to learn, and an apéro Jam Trad follows the dancing.

Châteaudun’s annual Sainte Cécile concert welcomes the Harmonie Municipale de Vendôme. The visiting ensemble mixes amateur musicians with advanced students and teachers from the École de Musique Territoires Vendômois. Its repertoire spans classics, film scores, jazz and traditional music. Rodolphe GENESTA-PIALAT directs the visiting musicians, while Franck DEROUET leads the Châteaudun ensemble.

Créer ton blason is a heraldry workshop in Château-Renard, part of the Pas à Pages library’s heritage programme. The task is to create a personal coat of arms. The activity draws on the centuries-long use of blazons to identify a family or village. The workshop welcomes beginners and enthusiasts. Families and children can take part, with registration required.

Magda Lena Gorska and Serge Tamas bring Trali-Vari to Amies Voix in Mondoubleau. Storytelling is accompanied by guitar and percussion. Their tales follow a tree that grows back after being cut and a young goat that was once a boy. The departmental media library presents this encounter with Slavic and Creole oral traditions. The performance welcomes audiences aged five and above.

Les cinq sens pairs a lecture on medieval sensibility with a string-quartet concert. Nathalie Koble explores ways of feeling, listening and perceiving in medieval culture. Quatuor Béla performs Musiques envoûtées, including works by Meredith Monk and Gavin Bryars. The programme draws on Noirlac’s long reverberation, with pieces conceived for resonance and a Bryars work co-commissioned by the abbey.

Maya Micenmacher, a member of the Association Céramique La Borne, teaches an adult wheel-throwing course. Demonstrations introduce forms before participants practise at the wheel. The work on trimming, handles and spouts follows each participant’s goals. More experienced potters can explore open forms as they refine their technique within La Borne’s continuing pottery practice.

Writing and reading aloud come together in a workshop led by Cie Un temps in La Châtre. The prompt is “If I were George Sand, I would say…”, asking participants to imagine speaking as the author. The workshop brings participants together for three sessions. A public reading completes the programme, bringing its literary activity before an audience.