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Though France is, above all, the land of civilised sophistication, the old popular traditions still live on in the countryside. In their folk dances, as in their music and costume, the different regions present a rich variety. This book begins with the sea girt land of Brittany, where fifteen hundred years ago the men of Cornwall, fleeing before the Saxon invader, founded Cornouaille across the sea. Then it takes us to the Bourbonnais, in the little known heart of France, where langue d'oil and langue d'oc meet. The old dances are accompanied by traditional instruments, such as the Breton bombarde and biniou, and the vielle that is still made in the Bourbonnais by men who learned the craft from their fathers.

The authors, both of whom hold high positions in the Paris Museum of Folk Art and Traditions, introduce us to their chosen regions with a general description of the regional costumes, dances and music; four selected dances are then more fully described, with step notations and music, and four plates in vivid colour showing the correct costumes.