In between sets, the room would fill with chatter, but when the musicians on-stage would begin their chants, everyone sprung to action and knew the steps! The music was sung in Breton, one of the languages spoken in the Brittany region. Breton is very different from French. I only understood little, but my Breton classes at the Skol an Emsav helped me understand more than I thought!
The rapid urbanization of the Brittany region and the strong cultural identity movement in Brittany in the 1950s and the decades after together led to the modern day fest-deiz and fest-noz. Moreover, since the 1970s, many associations such as Dastum have sprung up in Rennes to support spreading Breton culture.
The fest-deiz and fest-noz have allowed the Breton people to keep their culture alive and bring different generations of singers, dancers, musicians and artists together to celebrate the Breton culture. Rich, traditional knowledge is shared in the form of dances and songs from generation to generation. Language transmission is also an important part of the event, as Breton dialects concentrated in aging populations can be shared with younger generations. I can attest that there were indeed people all of ages, from newborns in strollers all the way to people in their 80s and 90s!
But there is also room for great flexibility and for each member of the community to contribute to their local variation of fest-deiz and fest-noz. Bringing the community together and sharing a good time is fundamental to these two celebrations.
