The good thing about small towns like Rennes is that any of its festivals although not big in size quickly become “the event” of the week. Nearly every single urbanite throws himself into the streets and participates in these “communions” of music, dance and many other indescribable scenes.
Last week Rennes got invaded by tens of theatrical companies, brass bands, circuses, interactive installations, performances…most of them unknown and (nearly all) free.
What they call “city in arts” has been celebrated for the past 29 years during summertime as a way to conciliate street art with “Rennais” and always close to the omnipresent Celtic culture. We could think this is a “popular” festival, but such a heterogeneous bazaar of propositions makes it hard to categorise.
One day you wake up listening to Jo Bithume’s Brass band playing down the street, then go on excursion to an “intimate” safari full of daily life-scenes set all around the city and end the night dancing to the rhythm of Radio Barkas.
The following, tightrope walkers and tumblers risk their life to make you smile when you get down the bus after a hard working day. But that’s not all, on the parliament-square near the bus stop five couples mix traditional dance with folklore choreographies. Finally when the sun is gone the Cyr channel is filled with thousands of candles, gigantic fire spiders, African wind gurus, devilish mechanical men…
Those were just two days, imagine what other rarities occurred during the other seven.
We went to the Tombées de la Nuit to experience if what “Rennais” said was true… a city filled with mysterious sounds, forms, gestures, creatures… which for a few days teach you how to live together once again with the rest of the villagers…
… and it was so much more…
