Coralie Le Sciellour, join the round at Le Croisty!

Chinese portrait of Coralie

Quality
The pleasure of sharing
Fault
The frustration of never doing enough. You can always do more
A guilty pleasure
Dried fruit and sweets from the "Ma vie de Cookie" chocolate factory
Passion
Breton culture
An ideal day
Sharing my passion on Saturday afternoons with the children of the Cercle and all the young people I have trained
Favourite spot in the King Morvan region
Locuon in Ploërdut. I can't get enough of it
Le Pays du roi Morvan for you
A region attached to its cultural and architectural heritage

Dance is inextricably linked to a region, a costume, a cuisine...

A passion from the start

Coralie Le Sciellour was born in Bubry to farming parents. Her father never wanted to run a big farm. "He always preferred integrated farming, which respects the environment". Because of the busy workload, the family never went on holiday, but went on long walks every Sunday. This father taught his children to respect nature and their heritage. Coralie has always loved life in the countryside.

She thrives in a family with a strong Breton culture. Her father sings with friends at fest-noz. Her mother embroiders aprons. She and her brother are musicians in the Bubry bagad. Although her father speaks Breton, he hasn't taught it to his children. So Coralie decided to spend six months on an immersion course to learn the language. "My grandmother used to ask me why I was doing this and tell me it wouldn't do me any good". But Coralie is a local girl in the noblest sense of the word!

She started Breton dancing at the tender age of 6, in the Celtic circle of Melrand. As a little girl, she met dancers who fascinated her. "I used to drink in their words". Because she felt so at home there, she remained a member of the Cercle until she was 20.

She joined the Cercle Danserien Ar Vro Pourlet in Le Croisty for a show that was short of dancers. "We help each other out a lot when we're short of people". Her good deed was well rewarded: she met the man of her life. It was only natural that she should move with him to Le Croisty, between Guémené-sur-Scorff and Le Faouët, to live and dance. But dancing isn't enough for this energetic young woman... she also wants to pass on her passion!

A well-paced transmission

Coralie quickly became attached to this small village, where the welcome is very warm and the community fabric is rich and dynamic. But there is no dance group for children. So she decided... "One day, I saw some children in the village and asked them if they'd like to learn Breton dances. It's as simple as that! And that's how, just one year after arriving in 2005, Coralie put her heart and soul into setting up a class for children. It was an immediate success, with a dozen or so budding artists meeting up every Saturday in the first year. She not only teaches them to dance, but also a few words of Breton and a bit of Breton culture, because "dance is inextricably linked to a region, a costume, a cuisine...". At first, they danced in T-shirts printed with a simple logo. But as the number of participants grew, by the second year, the Cercle decided to make them real costumes. The adventure really began!

Coralie knows how to find the right tone to ensure that this learning process remains a leisure activity, despite the rules to be followed. She makes children understand that "wearing a costume means representing a region, it's serious". And it's fair to say that her method works! In 20 years, her first pupils have moved on to the teenage group and then to the adult group.

In fact, there are so many little dancers that we have had to split them into two groups. Together with Lauranne Offredo, her second instructor, they do an exceptional job of training! "You have to remain a child in your head to be able to interest them".

Coralie's greatest reward is seeing the children come back every week, year after year. There's no doubt about it, the next generation is here. Some are even training with Coralie to become instructors in their own right!

You have to respect tradition, but you can't get bogged down in it. Breton music has evolved with new instruments

A modern, creative Celtic circle

But what's the secret to such success? Apparently, it's a clever mix, as Coralie tells us... "You have to respect tradition, but you can't get bogged down in it. You have to respect tradition, but you can't get bogged down in it. Breton music has evolved with new instruments". And it's this open-mindedness that she teaches so well to her young pupils.

And let's get it straight once and for all: contrary to what some people think, neither Coralie, nor the children, nor anyone else in the Cercle wears Breton costume every day! Everyone lives in the 21st century in jeans, sweatshirts and trainers! Another point of clarification while we're on the subject, to avoid making a big mistake, is that you don't dress up as a Breton when you wear the costume. It's traditional dress. And it's the same for the music! They listen to pop, metal, rap... and as Coralie points out, "the warm-up can be done to modern music". Breton culture is alive and well and has nothing to do with folklore.

The best proof of this modernity is the new choreography created each year by the young dancers of the Cercle Nathan et Estelle. The traditional steps are integrated into a show that tells a story.

All the rehearsals take place at La Taverne du Roi Morvan, a former bar-restaurant in Le Croisty. This mecca of Breton culture was particularly lively a few years ago. But that's another story...

Today, the cercle Danserien Ar Vro Pourlet performs at all the major festivals in Brittany. It has toured France and abroad with the Bagad de Lann-Bihoué. He's even played the Olympia twice with Alan Stivell and Tri Yann!

Bravo and thank you to Coralie and all the dancers who make us proud to be Bretons! You're not Breton? Then you have every right to be jealous!