Bal Folk

Spain

MUSIC FOR DANCE INSPIRED BY TRADITION

Dos is a project inspired by dance, tradition, community dances, and the music that accompanies them.

Following the addition of Alberto Román in 2025, the double bass accompanies the 5-string violin, the guitar, the charango, percussion instruments from here and there, and flutes on a journey that connects the freedom and imagination of those who play with that of those who listen and dance.

This duo (now trio) from Madrid, formed in the spring of 2016 out of a desire to learn about and explore the rhythms of folklore, both Central European (bal-folk) and Iberian, has taken its music all over Spain and the main cities and folk festivals of Portugal, France and Switzerland, and have been featured on the main Spanish radio programmes dedicated to folk and traditional and reworked music: La Tarataña, Discópolis (RNE3), La Riproposta (RNE Clásica), Entrelares (Radio Círculo), Mundofonías, among others.

Bal Folk

France

They were only about ten years old when they first met on stage, and it would be fifteen years before they embarked on a shared musical adventure.

Willy's audacious hurdy-gurdy combined with Stevan's skillful accordion will transport you to the heart of a truly high-quality musical encounter.

Sometimes poignant, sometimes sensual, their music will carry you away to an extraordinary world

Castilian Music

Spain

Vanesa Muela graduated with a degree in History from the University of Valladolid in 2003 and is a specialist in Traditional Studies.

She began singing on stage at the age of four, and at six she gave her first recital at the Teatro San Víctor in Valladolid, performing twelve traditional songs live.

In her forty-three-year career, Vanesa has earned the affection, respect and admiration of the public for her voice, her talent and her charm on stage. Her way of communicating is unique.

Currently, and for more than a decade, she has been the traditional music singer with the most concerts per year.

She has twelve albums on the market that have achieved great success both critically and commercially (some of them sold 5,000 copies). She has also collaborated on hundreds of recordings with other folk music groups throughout Spain.

Vanesa has travelled across four continents, giving more than 2,100 concerts in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Asia.

Since 2000, she has been a presenter at national and international folklore festivals and a radio announcer.

At the age of just 18, she was hired by the Madrid Symphony Orchestra and the Spanish National Ballet to sing a series of anonymous 17th-century romances at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid for two weeks.

Since that age, she has also been a teacher of traditional percussion at the Folklore Plaza Castilla schools in Madrid and at the folklore schools of San Pedro de Gaillos and Cantalejo, both in the province of Segovia. She has taught more than 5,500 students.

Bal Folk

France

An explosive duo for subtle, rhythmic music born on the Artense plateau.

Basile and Hervé achieve a paradoxical feat: they appropriate (sometimes with humour, a musical humour that is the opposite of mockery) music and melodies while remaining at their service.

Their approach is based, quite simply, on their love for this music.

Bal Folk

France

The quartet was born from the reunion of two former members of the SousLePont trio and their respective partners, who are also musicians. Drawing on the trio's repertoire and incorporating new compositions, this instrumental ensemble, with its almost orchestral sound, unfolds its distinctive musical universe.

À 2 Pas Du Pont will guide you across the dance floor, through diverse musical styles and atmospheres, like a relentless soundtrack to your steps, inspiring the most daring interpretations and the most delicate expressions of dance, to make you dream and sweat.

Bal Folk

Belgium

Hartwin is a diatonic accordionist and composer. His instrumental music has been moving people worldwide for many years. He is known for his simple and melancholic melodies that leave much room for the listener's imagination.

With Flavia Escartin (cello) and Pavel Souvandjiev (violin), Hartwin surrounds himself with two talented and extremely creative musicians who are not averse to combining elements from different styles with each other. The trio's music is a sort of tightrope dance between classical, folk, and world music orchestrated by three outspoken characters who constantly challenge and complement each other musically.

The recognizability of Hartwin’s melodies, combined with the driving and surprising arrangements by Flavia & Pavel, form a dazzling play of sounds you can discover live during a concert by this 'atypical' trio.

Bal Folk and World Music

Spain

Compost Worms is a trio that explores bal folk and world dances from different places: accordion and synthesizers (Rubén), guitar (Juanfran), transverse flute and saxophone (Javi) blend together to create a unique sound where Balkan rhythms, jazz harmonies and melodies inspired by Irish tradition and classical music coexist.

Their music takes European bal folk and takes it to new territories, combining traditional melodies with their own compositions and synthesiser textures. The result is a fresh, danceable sound that connects tradition with a contemporary sensibility.

Bal Folk

France

The HUNE duo is a project centred around two musicians from different backgrounds, their love of traditional music and popular cultures. An encounter between cultures, their differences and their universality. Let yourself be carried away on a musical journey, rocked by sounds, stories, symbols and energy.

Martin Neaga (MLD) received classical training in cello and later discovered oral music. Since then, he has travelled extensively throughout Europe, with his cello under his arm and his rucksack on his back, discovering this music through the musicians who practise it, including in Ukraine, which has been his adopted country for many years.

Eulalie Hupin (B), trained in classical piano, taught herself to play the accordion. From an early age, she turned to traditional music and developed her style by accompanying dancers. Her accordion also accompanies her in the performance of songs from various traditions.

Storyteller

Spain

Primigenius is an educational project that uses theatre, storytelling, music and other visual and performing arts. Since 2003, we have been working with and for children aged 0 to 11, primarily.

We create stage productions which we perform at schools, colleges, cultural centres, libraries, book fairs, theatres, bookshops, etc.

We run workshops for children and training sessions for adults; we are constantly involved in classroom projects, festivals, forums and any inspiring and enjoyable initiative related to education and creative work.

We draw inspiration from oral tradition and folklore, as well as from alternative teaching methods and popular education.

We believe in the boundless creative and human potential of every individual, in learning through play, and in building knowledge as a community.

We aim not to overlook the pedagogical approach and educational potential of theatre and the various artistic languages. In this way, our project is transforming us into ‘educators’.

Verbena Folki - (Dances Workshop)

Spain

Madrigueira was born out of a desire to share traditional music and dance as spaces for people to come together. Through workshops, entertainment and participatory concerts, we aim to revive the spirit of traditional festivals: places where different generations gather to dance, celebrate and build a sense of community.

Our programme combines balfolk, Iberian dances and world dances; each event becomes a collective and inclusive experience where the audience does not merely listen or watch, but participates, shares, dances and forms part of this community celebration.

Madrigueira is a folk dance and music collective founded with the aim of celebrating our traditions and strengthening the community through participatory dance and music. Their approach revives the spirit of old-fashioned village festivals, where dancing was a meeting point between generations and the music invited everyone to join in the celebration.

Through dance workshops, entertainment and participatory concerts, they combine balfolk, Iberian dances and world dances, creating spaces open to people of all ages and abilities, where what matters is not knowing how to dance, but sharing the experience.

Based in Madrid, Madrigueira aims to transform every gathering into a collective experience where celebration, street parties and tradition come together once more on the dance floor.

Bourrée: an in-depth look

Spain

Have you ever been in a situation where musicians announced a ‘bourrée in 3’ and you thought, ‘Ugh... what a drag’?

Or heard “bourrée in 2” and felt daunted because, without a group to choreograph with, it seems a bit dull?

Would you like to discover the nature of these dances: how they came about, what characterises them, what sets them apart?

Or would you like to learn how to create variations so that they become dances as rich in nuance as a mazurka or a Scottish dance?

If any of this sounds familiar, this is the workshop for you. We’ll explore how these two dances can be developed, where their foundations lie, how to push our boundaries, how to learn to communicate and have fun.