Brittany – Fest Noz (3): Yaouank

More images from the well and truly outstanding Yaouank festival in Rennes, Brittany, France (22 November 2014). Yaouank is the largest Fest Noz event in Brittany, and draws a crowd of between 7,000 and 8,000 people.

Fest Noz (literally meaning ‘night festival’) is a traditional Breton dance festival or event, accompanied by traditional Breton music and song. Many of the dances themselves – generally communal, with participants holding hands and dancing in a circle while performing a series of steps including stamping movements – are hundreds of years old, and are thought to have originated in the communal practice of trampling the earth floor in a house or other building. Fest Noz is inscribed on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. © Rudolf Abraham. All Rights Reserved.

Two shots of Breton band Titom – violinist Raphaël Chevalier, and Thomas Lotout playing the bombard:

Fest Noz - Yaouank Festival, Rennes, Brittany, France, November 2014 photography © Rudolf Abraham
Fest Noz – Yaouank Festival, Rennes, Brittany, France, (November 2014). © Rudolf Abraham

FRbr_1066a
Fest Noz – Yaouank Festival, Rennes, Brittany, France, (November 2014). © Rudolf Abraham

Communal dances, involving several hundred people…
Pictured in the centre is Yannig Alory, flute player from Titom:
Fest Noz - Yaouank Festival, Rennes, Brittany, France, November 2014 photography © Rudolf Abraham
Fest Noz – Yaouank Festival, Rennes, Brittany, France, (November 2014). © Rudolf Abraham

Young couple dancing a ‘Scottish’:
Fest Noz - Yaouank Festival, Rennes, Brittany, France, November 2014 photography © Rudolf Abraham
Fest Noz – Yaouank Festival, Rennes, Brittany, France, (November 2014). © Rudolf Abraham

And so it went on, until around 5am… Quite simply, one of the most amazing festivals I have ever seen or had the pleasure of photographing.
Fest Noz - Yaouank Festival, Rennes, Brittany, France, November 2014 photography © Rudolf Abraham
Fest Noz – Yaouank Festival, Rennes, Brittany, France, (November 2014). © Rudolf Abraham

FRbr_1075
Fest Noz – Yaouank Festival, Rennes, Brittany, France, (November 2014). © Rudolf Abraham

All images shot on a Nikon D700 @ ISO 1600, with 50/1.4 & 70-200/2.8 lenses.
Click here to license these images and for more photos from the Yaouank Festival in Brittany.
Photos copyright © Rudolf Abraham. All rights reserved. Images may not be copied, stored, distributed or published in any form without prior written permission from Rudolf Abraham.

Subscribe
Notify of

Leave a comment

guest

2 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
alessandro ciapanna
9 years ago

A great report – excellent set.