Lous Tchanques Chalosse was founded in 1991 by Christian Fournadet, who is still the honorary president.

 

His main goal was to maintain traditional dances on floor and on stilts; which were typically danced in Landes, south west of France and also to train musicians on traditional instruments and songs to follow dancers on their choreographies.

 

Since 1991 more than 100 girls and boys joined the group to learn our traditional dances. At the moment Lous Tchanques Chalosse consists of about 40 active dancers (from 6 to 25 years) and 7 musicians

 

A further important objective of our group is to establish

links with groups in France and overseas during Folk festivals.

So we have already visited groups in Spain, Portugal, Italy,

Romania, Greece, Sweden, Poland and Russia.

 

One of the most important activities of our folk dancing

group is the international folk festival abroad taking place

every two years during which several national and foreign

groups make us discover their traditional dances.

 

 

 

HISTORY

At the heart of the Southwest of France, the department of Landes is considered as its conviviality and its gastronomy.

Formerly swampy green region, it was dried up by the massive plantation of maritime pines in the XVIIIth century.

It is in this environment that the first men on stilts appeared. Mainly used in rural areas by the guards of herds, little by little this means of transport was used by all: women of shepherd, mailmen...

But all fell from their stilts when swamps were dried up. They decided then to exploit the forest from the Landes …

Today the wooden traditional stilts are only used for the folklore.