Program main stage 2023

Opening hours
CaDansa 2023 will be opened:
Thursday 26 October, 18.00 to 01.00 hr
Friday 27 October, 11.00 to 01.00 hr
Saturday 28 October, 11.00 to 02.30 hr CET
Sunday 29 October, 10.30 to 19.30 hr

Thursday 26 October

  • 18.15 to 19.15 Balfolk introduction
  • 19.30 to 20.45 Two catch a raindrop (Nl)
    Come rain, come shine: come dance! Niek en Annelies predict some rainshine mazurkas in the morning, sunbow bourrées and some whirlwaltzing later on. Accordeon throughout with a spell of oboes, drops of glockenspiel, vocal intervals, playful interaction and other storied surprises.
    Niek van Uden-Luteijn: accordeon
    Annelis van Uden-Luteijn: hobo
  • 21.15 to 22.30  Barbara Negra (Nl)
    Barbara Negra is a group of three Dutch friends: Tom Haage (guitar), Alrik Hiemstra (percussion) and Bart Boskaljon (diatonic accordion). Accompanied by a slight hangover, they dream of their travels through France, Spain, Argentina and beyond. With their singing and playing, they know how to turn anything into a party. Shake that booty! Swinging balfolk in honor of Barbara!
    Tom Haage: guitar
    Alrik Hiemstra: percussion
    Bart Boskaljon diatonic accordeon
  • 23.00 to 00.45 Bargainatt (Fr)
    From compositions to revisits of traditional tunes, Bargainatt invites you to discover his universe at the same time modern and authentic. The musicians take their inspiration from the dances of various regions of France that matter to them, trying to best respect the subtleties and traditions of these. From Auvergne to Bretagne, via Poitou and Gascogne, Bargainatt
    offers you a journey with multiple colors and influences, full of energy and freshness.
    Camillie Stimbre: violin and vocals
    Youmi Bazoge: violin and vocals
    Léon Olliver: diatonic accordeon and vocals
    Noé Bazoge: cello and vocals

Friday 27 October

  • 16.45 to 18.15 Wouter en de Draak (Nl)
    Joris Alblas on guitar and Wouter Kuyper on harmonica give dancers butterflies in their stomachs. With the melodies and rhythms flowing into each other, these two musicians bring together a perfect combination of their musicality and creativity. From enchantingly intimate mazurkas, refined gavotte de montagnes and kost ar’choads, to swinging and energetic scottishes: they can do it all.
    Joris Alblas: guitar
    Wouter Kuyper: diatonic accordeon
  • 18.45 to 20.15 Les conteuses de pas (Fr)
    Navigating from Brittany to Auvergne, from Normandy to Poitou, Les Conteuses de Pas follow their dancing fancies. Whether they opt for dances well-trodden in folk dancing events or less common steps, the arrangements are decidedly personal, interwoven with threads from India or Africa, or sporting a nuance of rock’n’roll. The continuous sound of the hurdy-gurdy, the clear notes of the harp and the vocal harmony, tune up and make you rush to the dance floor, to dance to traditional and original pieces alike.
    Marion Blanchard: vocals
    Virgilia Gacoin: vocals
    Clémence Moiron: harp and vocals
    Lucien Pillot: hurdy-gurdy
  • 20.45 to 22.30 Broes (Be)
    Broes originally started in 2009 with Florian De Schepper on guitar and Anouk Sanczuk on violin. The group expanded with Elke De Meester (chromatic accordion) in 2012. Just before the corona pandemic, jazz bass player Zjef Van Steenbergen and all-round percussionist Gielis Cautaers joined, a perfect addition to the existing base. It resulted in musical fireworks on stage, which was inevitable with five top musicians. In their music you can find a fine mix of meditative and energetic musical waves, combined with Arab, Irish, French, Balkan and African influences.
    Florian De Schepper: guitar
    Anouk Sanczuk: violin
    Elke De Meester: chromatic accordeon
    Zjef Van Steenbergen: jazz bass
    Gielis Cautaers: percussion
  • 23.15 to 00.30 Monsieur Fruits (Fr)
    Monsieur Fruits is a guitar and a voice. A duet that turns into a trio when a ‘bucco-trombone’ joins the party. On the edge between Georges Marley and Bob Brassens, between lightness and casualness, chords that whirl and wander, slip on the ground or float in the air. It’s like a journey through space and time. The space of waltz and other dance, the time of a song that we know and another one that we do not. Monsieur Fruits music is made to be listened to, to be sung as well… and, of course, to be danced.
    Monsieur Fruits: guitar and vocals

Saturday 28 October

  • 16.30 to 18.00 La Reveilleuse (Fr)
    DLa Réveilleuse, is a bright and energetic french guitar-vocal duo for concert and balfolk. Inspired by traditional dance music, Camille Lachenal’s songs tell stories of life, powerful women and old trees while Simon McDonnell adds his fine folk
    arrangements to her words. Enter the “Cercle des Femmes”, meet “La Réveilleuse” in person on a three-step
    waltz, dance the mazurka under a chestnut tree and wander the woods to the sound of an avant-deux !
    Camille Lachenal: vocals, percussion, clarinet
    Simon McDonell: vocals, guitare, bodhran, harmonica, flûte irlandaise
  • 18.30 to 20.00 L’Air Inconnu (Fr)
    L’Air Inconnu is an experienced and creative musical trio that brings to the stage today’s traditional dance and music, for all curious people – and plants or animals – who want to hear and see and dance it! Their compositions and arrangements of traditional dances are inspired by strong emotions and experiences from balls and festivals. The joy of encounters, intimate poetry, the power of sound, the energy of bodies in motion, the collectiveness of the dance floor: everything comes together in L’Air Inconnu.
    Dani Velasco: violin and vocals
    Sylvain Pool: guitar, citer, chromatic accordeon and vocals
    Fabien Bucher: guitar and mandolin
  • 20.30 to 22.00 Duo Tanghe Coudroy (Fr)
    Duo Tanghe Coudroy: guitar, an accordion and singing, for atypical, crafted, natural music which opens up beautiful, refined spaces, filled with a feeling of fragility and quiet energy. The repertoire obviously influenced by dance music, Brittany, Sweden, but also other desires which draw towards baroque music and other shores.
    Martin Coudroy: vocals, accordeon
    Aurelien Tanghe: vocals, guitar
  • 22.30 to 00.15 Beat Bouet Trio (Fr)
    Can you imagine? A mix of Breton dance, American rap mixed with their own special lyrics… what a dream, right? The three men of Beat Bouet Trio make it happen. The very first foundation of this band was formed in the 90s, on the bus to school. There, the seats were always occupied by the same three loud, hip-hop listening boys who always chatted about girls, graffiti, raggamuffin and hip-hop. Not only in French, but also in their own dialect: a nice mix of Gallo, French and English. It was almost inevitable that the three of them developed into top musicians. They mix the music and singing learned from their grandfathers with their own hip-hop background. B-Key is the accordion player, T Burt the human beat box and Faya Gur’s voice brings it all together into an intergenerational interplay of music.
    B-Key: accordeon
    T Burt: human beatbox
    Faya Gur: vocals
  • 00.45 to 02.00 Marie Paulette (Fr)
    The Duo Marie Paulette from Northern France (Calais) plays traditional music, but with a rock twist. This haywire duo pours some electric guitar, vocals and sound effects into their music. Marie Paulette is inspired by traditional dances and shapes them again and again, towards an electric and almost cosmopolitan trance. Diatonic accordion, electric guitar, dihponic vocals, samples and voice lead the dancers in an evolving and surprising repetition.
    Vincent Evrard: guitar, sample, vocals
    Coline Ledoux: diatonic accordeon

Sunday 29 October

  • 13.00 to 14.15 Duo Decombel en Van Mierlo (Be)
    Maarten Decombel and Toon Van Mierlo are highly respected folk musicians with a longstanding passion for newly composed music. As well as a twenty-year partnership in the internationally acclaimed Naragonia Quartet, individually they have also been in constant demand as parts of notable bands including MANdolinMAN, Novar, Snaarmaarwaar and Hot Griselda. With these bands they play all over Europe, Brazil, China, Canada… Then, in 2020, when the world had to be locked up because of an errant virus, they finally had the time to work together on an album and start their new duo. These two virtuoso musicians enter into a dialogue, in search of beauty and the sparkling connection of playing together.
    Maarten Decombel: guitar
    Toon Van Mierlo: accordeon
  • 14.45 to 16.15 Itchy Fingers (Nl)
    Multi-instrumentalists Erik de Jong and Tijn Berends had been playing music together for several years already, at the sessions in O’Ceallaigh’s Pub in Groningen, when they decided in early 2012 to merge their musical skills into this pocket-sized band. More than ten years later the fun is far from over. With their performances on the stages of various Dutch folk festivals (Elfia, Archeon Midwinterfair, Keltfest, CaDansa), ceilidh workshops, folk bals, listening concerts and of course still regularly at sessions, Erik and Tijn show that they’re still thoroughly enjoying the music they make together. The duo’s various CD albums (a third is in the making) clearly show that the musical possibilities are far from exhausted, so this duo will continue to keep playing for a while.
    Erik de Jong: accordeon, bodhran and tin-whistle
    Tijn Berends: guitar, Irish bouzouki, concertina, harmonica and vocals
  • 16.45 to 18.30 Naragonia Quartet (Be)
    The Naragonia Quartet is more than just an instrumental extension of the well-known duo Pascale Rubens and Toon van Mierlo, who have been active in balfolk since 2003. With their own unique repertoire and sound, the Naragonia Quartet guarantees an evening full of beautiful music that is perfect for a ball. Maarten Decombel (mandola and guitar) and Luc Pilartz (violin), together with Toon Van Mierlo (including uillean pipes, French bagpipes, clarinet, soprano saxophone and diatonic accordion) and Pascale Rubens (violin and diatonic accordion), create a very distinctive and swinging universe where it is lovely to stay.
    Maarten Decombel: mandola and guitar
    Luc Pilartz: violin
    Toon Van Mierlo: uillean pipes, French bagpipes, clarinet, sopraansaxophone and diatonic accordeon
    Pascale Rubens: viool en diatonisch accordeon
  • 18.30 to 19.30 Closing ceremony

This schedule is subject to change, depending on circumstances.

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