Bal O’Gadjo
Sailing on an intoxicating wave of popular music, and driven by a strong southerly wind, Bal O’Gadjo draws in an audience captivated by its warm rhythms.
Since 2005, our five musicians have been pursuing their work of opening up and bringing together traditional music and songs from around the world, with seven albums that have been continually enriched by each member’s journey.
In their new opus, Le poids de la terre, Bal O’Gadjo strengthens its vocal section with beautiful polyphonies, and through its new compositions, takes us to the heart of a market in Thessaloniki or the mountains of Kurdistan, travelling along winding roads ‘that always lead to the sea’ to talk about exile, resistance and inner struggles.
Lively and creative road music!
Lucie Gibaux: Clarinet, voice
Lucile Magnan: Cello, voice
Fabien Bucher: Guitar, mandolin, voice
Paul Oliver: Violin, saz, voice
Samuel Wornom: Derbouka, doholla, daf, voice
Peldrút
Peldrút’s musical project is based on a shared desire to draw on the richness of traditional Occitan repertoires through collections and sound archives, a kind of shared reference point, a foundation, fluid and evolving material from which to build our unique repertoire. We start with themes played and sung by elders to capture the intangibility of the collections, to capture the intimate power of a melodic memory that has been passed down through the generations before us. To recapture what is alive, sensitive and essential in these fragments of collective memory. We are committed to bringing their voices to life through our own, as a testimony to musical memories, past histories and cultural universes. At the same time, we compose themes and write lyrics that pay tribute to people who inspire us and causes we support, thus creating a space for political and poetic expression. It is important to us to bring messages that touch us to the stage while dancing, in a festive atmosphere.
Elissa Barthés : voice
Eva Cloteau : cello, voice
Clotilde Bellégo : violin, voice
Héloïse Moisan : accordion, feet, voice
LafittEtxeberrIrungarai
In order to revisit the traditional repertoire, and perhaps even inject some contemporary compositions into it, it is best to have studied it thoroughly first! That is what Pauline LAFITTE, Xabi ETCHEVERRY and Jokin IRUNGARAY, members of the Bilaka Collective, decided. They therefore took a particular interest in the dance music repertoire of the Northern Basque Country prior to the 20th century, exploring the collections of scores by Seminario and Sagaseta, as well as the specific sound of the instruments of that period: xirula, ttun ttun, violin and drum.
Natércia Lameiro
Natércia Lameiro is a Portuguese multi-instrumentalist and composer who has been exploring the vast world of music from around the globe since she was a child, eventually creating her own unique style. Blending influences from Portuguese fado, Brazilian and Turkish sounds, and polyphonic singing, Natércia seeks to touch the hearts of all who listen to her through her accordion, harp, guitar, and voice. A creative and sensitive Balfolk experience.
Zuretalur
A leap from the Basque Country abroad and back to the Basque Country. That’s Zuretalur. In the rich world of folk music without borders, this Basque trio draws on the roots of their homeland with a creative approach, offering a grounded and imaginative style of Balfolk. They combine personal arrangements of the Basque Country repertoire with their own compositions. New ways to discover traditional music and dance, bold, colourful and energetic!
Imanol Zabaleta: vocals, alboka, bagpipes, whistles, tambourine
Ander Zabaleta: vocals and trikitixa
Dani Velasco: vocals, violin
Besaide
Besaide is the geographical point where the borders of Biscay, Araba and Gipuzkoa meet.
Besaide is also the musical project that brings together Gorka Bravo Barreire (Gasteiz, Araba), Aritz Mugartegi Aretxabaleta (Gemiko, Bizkaia) and Teresa Jareño Querejeta (Donostia, Gipuzkoa).
The backbone of this musical project consists of the ancient rhythms, melodies and verses of Basque folk music that have been passed down to us through oral tradition, reinterpreting pre-existing themes and creating new ones using local musical resources and those from more distant traditions.
Throughout its career, Besaide has performed at important venues in the Basque Country: the Soinuenea concert series, Alboka Eguna 2024, the Aitzina folk festival, and was a finalist in the Folkez Blai competition.
At the end of 2024, the group released its first album, Hirusta, with the collaboration of renowned musicians such as Arkaitz Miner, Iraide Ansorena, Juan Mari Beltran, and Lolita Delmonteil.
Aritz Mugartegi: vocals, bouzouki, ttun-ttun, saz, daff, traditional timbre, lauto, criba and mandolin.
Gorka Bravo Barreiro: hurdy-gurdy, Galician bagpipes, tambourine and programming.
Teresa Jareño: Alboka, clarinet, bass clarinet, vocals and tambourine.
Izaskun Iturri
Izaskun Iturri Agirre has been teaching Basque folk dance for about thirty years. She has a qualification from the Basque government for teaching dance. She is a member of the jury for Basque dance competitions. She has studied Art Direction at ECAM (Madrid). Trained in different dance styles; she has been dancing Basque folk dance and fusions with other styles for more than 40 years, having taken part, together with Maite Churruca Alemán, in numerous groups (Nahia Dantza Konpainia, Oinarin, Mielotxin, Paz de Ziganda, Mikelats), concerts, collaborations and trips with shows at the local, national and international level in which traditional dance fuses with other styles, giving it a contemporary feel. She currently teaches Basque folk dance lessons and works on the projects of the traditional music group KORRONTZI, with which they take Basque music, dance and culture around the world.
María Cubero and Francesco Palmeri
Francesco Palmeri and María Cubero are two dancers and teachers with more than eight years of experience in teaching Balfolk and other disciplines. Francesco studied music and is experienced in festivals management, María is trained in dance, movement and artistic skating.
After many years in balfolk, their professional careers are joined together in 2015 with the creation of Folqué?. Since then, they organised tons of events, concerts, workshops and festivals.
Their view of dance, strongly influenced by their cultural and political background, led them to create very innovative workshops, specifically in folk couple dances, which were taught in the most recognised festivals and residencies in Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy, France, Belgium, Poland, UK and Czech Republic.
Workshop on connection in partner dances – Interactive marking
This is a wonderful workshop in which we work mainly on connection in Scottish and mazurka, in order to build a dance between two people. An experience to learn how to compose the dance with our partner, approaching the co-leading that we prefer to call ‘interactive marking’.
Advanced technique workshop for couple dances – Balance & Speed
This is a technical workshop aimed at creating variations from inertia and movement, playing with amplitude, turns, etc. We will mainly work on Scottish, mazurka and waltz.
Madrigueira
Madrigueira is a folk dance and music collective formed by Natalia, Ander and Carlota, which celebrates popular roots as a living space for encounter and community.
We offer open workshops in balfolk, world dances and Iberian dances where anyone can join in: you don’t need to know how to dance, just want to move and share.
We dance to celebrate, care for each other and find ourselves through our roots and shared joy, in a format similar to a street party, with lots of good fun. For us, dance is a collective space for enjoyment, expression and everyday resistance.
Madrigueira wants to bring tradition closer to new imaginaries from a lively, inclusive and participatory perspective.
Javier Muela and Delia Señor
With essentially practical training through different courses with teachers and choreographers from various countries, they have been dedicated to teaching World Dances for 41 and 36 years, respectively.
They have taught more than 500 courses throughout Spain and in other countries such as Portugal, Italy and Morocco. In addition, they are the promoters and organisers of the Danzas Sin Fronteras festival, which this year celebrated its 22nd edition:
https://www.danzasinfronteras.es
In this edition of Folkirrika, they will introduce us to the rhythms and steps characteristic of the Balkan region, a meeting point between East and West.
