Breton Dances

Brittany has it's own traditional dances. They are usually very simple, so that everybody can dance them. My next story happened in the end of October during a Fest-noz of the Samhain Night (or Halloween). There were three groups playing. It started with a harpist, continued with the First Breton's band and his friends from Brittany finished the long evening. Everyone was dancing as the music played. However, it was just a free-style dancing because the people of Prague usually don't know how to dance Breton dances.

But then, as soon as a "Kas abarh" named "Florence" began to be played be the First Breton, a group of smiling people made pairs and started dancing the softest dance I've ever seen. It was so beautiful. I stayed frozen to the floor astonished by these Bretons so I didn't even realize that the song is finished and an "An Dro" is played now.

And suddenly a man from the dancing group grabbed my hand, so now I was a part of a long chain and we all danced An Dro together. I doesn't happen so often that a group of foreign people takes you among them and dance with you. However, it happened to me.
After the song the man taught me steps for all Kas abarh, An Dro and Plinn. I felt like one of them. We all danced together again and again and I was making sure that I remember the steps well.

A while before I had to leave the man said: "Do you remember the Kas abarh - Florence? It's named after my daughter :)" And actually that's all I know about him. He's surely gone home to Brittany together with his companions soon after the concert, and probably I will never see them again. But sure I won't forget. He taught me something and it wasn't just "how to dance", it was more about "dancing together".

As he said: "It doesn't matter whether you are a little girl or a granny, it doesn't matter whether you can dance or not. In Brittany we all dance together."

Le Gateau Breton

The Breton cake ("Le gateau Breton" in French) is typical for Brittany. It's very dry so stays unspoiled for a long time and it tastes just great. Both preparation and baking together takes about one hour if you're fast enough. It needs a bit of practice of mixing the flour with the rest but even an unskilled cook can do it quite well :)
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What you need:
125 g of butter
150 g of powdered sugar
3 eggs and one egg yolk
300 g of flour
A pinch of salt
One shot or rum

-Fine down the butter in a big dish using a wooden spoon. When it's smooth enough, add the sugar and mix it together.
-Put in the whole eggs and salt and then slowly add the flour while stirring it. This step takes the most time.
-Lastly pour in the shot and fold it in.
-Take a rounded baking tin, butter it and put in the mixture. Cover the top with a yolk and draw on it a pattern using a fork.
-Place it in an oven at 180°C for about 40 minutes. Before eating it, leave the cake to cool down.
I'm sure you'll like it!