Above photo: our event venue, one of 3 dance floors on site
The Old World Alt-Blues Recess
1 hour west of Valence, France
May 28th - June 1st
Recess has been producing progressive, boundary pushing, culture creating events in the American partner dancing scene over the past 9 years. This is the second (!) official Recess outside of the United States and will serve as a small, intimate, and playful testing ground for the what we want our dance community to be. Kind of like a fun-filled, fantasy-driven weekend... or a lived-in premonition of what we want the future to be!
We will spend three days and four nights dancing, eating, camping, and making merry in the mountains of the French countryside 2 hours south of Lyon, France. Our setting is the Ferme Les Costes Its stone walls and network of outbuildings will be our dance halls; its sprawling grounds and industrial kitchen our house and dining room. There are 40 beds for an extra cost, otherwise camping is provided with the purchasing of an event ticket.
We will spend three days and four nights dancing, eating, camping, and making merry in the mountains of the French countryside 2 hours south of Lyon, France. Our setting is the Ferme Les Costes Its stone walls and network of outbuildings will be our dance halls; its sprawling grounds and industrial kitchen our house and dining room. There are 40 beds for an extra cost, otherwise camping is provided with the purchasing of an event ticket.
VENUE WEBSITE OF OLD WORLD LOCATION
What is a Recess?
A Recess event is a break from constraints: a recess from traditional obligations, a recess from the uninspiring, a recess from boundaries (in music, movement, conventional norms, and expression), a recess from the creative-voids of the every day. We call it Alt. (short for Alternative) because that's what we are, that's the music we prefer, that's the experience we strive to create--something outside of the ordinary. We call it Blues because that's who we are, we are Blues dancers and a part of the larger Blues community. We dance with the creative brilliance of Blues connection, technique, and musicality, often to Blues music. . . and often to something else. We believe in an inclusive and expansively nonrestrictive idea of what the Blues community "IS" and what it can become. We believe in dance as a living, ever-evolving cultural movement: borne out of the time-honored traditions of the past and inspired by the sounds, movements, styles, rhythms, and progressive social revelations of today. We are a community of dancers; we are the Recess Family.
Learn More here about the Recess Mission and Vision HERE!
Learn More here about the Recess Mission and Vision HERE!
What's with the sliding scale pricing structure?
In order to make this event financially accessible to as many people as possible, we are offering tickets on a sliding scale, with tickets ranging from € 95.00 and up. Please consider your financial situation and buy a ticket at the high end of what you can afford. This gives access to folks who couldn't otherwise afford to come. If € 95.00 is outside of your price range, fill out one of our sexy-lookin' Volunteer and/or Scholarship applications and our scholarship committee will work to issue you a ticket you can afford. These events are about community and access.
In order to make this event financially accessible to as many people as possible, we are offering tickets on a sliding scale, with tickets ranging from € 95.00 and up. Please consider your financial situation and buy a ticket at the high end of what you can afford. This gives access to folks who couldn't otherwise afford to come. If € 95.00 is outside of your price range, fill out one of our sexy-lookin' Volunteer and/or Scholarship applications and our scholarship committee will work to issue you a ticket you can afford. These events are about community and access.
Scholarship and Volunteer Applications
At Recess we have separate scholarship and volunteer forms in an attempt to divide the idea that those who give time are those who cannot pay the full amount and that those who can pay full price shouldn't be inspired to help. These events are run off of two resources, Time (aka. Love) and Money. If you can and want to give shit tons of both, yay for abundance! If you can't give that much, you still belong here. But we need both for the event to happen, that is just real. Thus, the forms:
SCHOLARSHIP FORM
VOLUNTEER FORM
Plugging In: Kitchen and Volunteer Shifts
Recess events are not run by a sourced-out production company, they are run and produced by YOU! Everyone who registers works one volunteer shift during the event. The majority of available shifts are cooking meals for your fellow community members. When you arrive at the event you will get to choose how you plug in and when.
Classes and Skill-Share Workshops
While workshops are not the focus of this event, we will be creating a space for both skill-share classes and catered blues dancing classes for those wanting to work on their dancing. Skill share workshops are classes that can be offered by any of the event participants. Anyone and everyone is encouraged to show the community what they have to share and teach!
Music Lineup : Alt, Alt-Blues, Fusion, Traditional Blues, Turquoise... we don't care what you call it—we just know it will be amazing!
When it comes to music, we’ll promise you this: it will be amazing, it will push you, and it will be all across the board. You will hear Electronica (trip hop, downtempo, glitch hop, chillstep, dubstep, electro pop, plus much more), Traditional Blues (Jazz Blues, Rockin', Juke Joint, Delta, Chicago, etc), Hip Hop, R&B, Funk, Ska, African, Classical, Lyrical and more. We strive to have the highest quality music, to experiment and push ourselves, and to get down like it’s a Recess!
Getting To The Event
Driving:
Why not check out the sweet Event Rideshare Board. Find a ride, give a ride, find other dancers to share a rental care with. Once your car is primed with dancers, snacks, and sweet road trip tunes, you can fine us at Ferme les Costes!
From Paris:
Valence is a three-hour train ride from the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. You can catch the train directly at the airport (terminal 2) or from the Gare de Lyon station in Paris. Change at Valence Gare TGV for the train to downtown Valence (Valence Ville). Tickets will cost from 25 – 50 euros depending on how early you reserve them (tickets go on sale about three months before the date of departure).
From Lyon:
Catch the train directly from the Saint Exupery Airport in Lyon. The train ride takes about 30 minutes to Valance TGV and another 15 minutes to downtown Valence.
To get to the venue from Valence:
The closest town to Ferme Les Costes is Le Cheylard, about one hour from Valence by car. There is also a bus that leaves from downtown Valence every few hours. http://www.lesept.fr/horaires-ligne-12,aller,le-cheylard-st-sauveur-de-montagut-valence.html
Either find a rideshare (try BlaBlaCar!) or take the bus to Les Cheylard. From there you can either take a lovely 1-2 hour walk up to the site, or take a rideshare. Check the rideshare board to see if anyone has spaces when they come in their car. Depending on the needs of the group, we may also set up a shuttle.
Why not check out the sweet Event Rideshare Board. Find a ride, give a ride, find other dancers to share a rental care with. Once your car is primed with dancers, snacks, and sweet road trip tunes, you can fine us at Ferme les Costes!
From Paris:
Valence is a three-hour train ride from the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. You can catch the train directly at the airport (terminal 2) or from the Gare de Lyon station in Paris. Change at Valence Gare TGV for the train to downtown Valence (Valence Ville). Tickets will cost from 25 – 50 euros depending on how early you reserve them (tickets go on sale about three months before the date of departure).
From Lyon:
Catch the train directly from the Saint Exupery Airport in Lyon. The train ride takes about 30 minutes to Valance TGV and another 15 minutes to downtown Valence.
To get to the venue from Valence:
The closest town to Ferme Les Costes is Le Cheylard, about one hour from Valence by car. There is also a bus that leaves from downtown Valence every few hours. http://www.lesept.fr/horaires-ligne-12,aller,le-cheylard-st-sauveur-de-montagut-valence.html
Either find a rideshare (try BlaBlaCar!) or take the bus to Les Cheylard. From there you can either take a lovely 1-2 hour walk up to the site, or take a rideshare. Check the rideshare board to see if anyone has spaces when they come in their car. Depending on the needs of the group, we may also set up a shuttle.
What To Bring, How to Prepare
- Everything you need for camping unless you are renting one of the 40 rooms for rent on site. We are talking ground pad, sleeping bag, tent, the works.
- Sun screen and clothes to be in the sun for much of the day.
- Snacks and food if you are not on the Recess Meal Plan (€ 35.00 for 4 days of food, Thursday dinner to Monday brunch). If you are on the more voracious end of things (or if you are a bit pickier when you're peckish), you might want to bring some snacks even if you are on the meal plan.
- Clothes to be screen printed. We will be offering custom-prints on any clothes you choose to bring. Clothing must be dropped off for screen printing on Friday and/or Saturday morning and will be available for pick-up Sunday afternoon. The inks will be black and white (or some very, very pale color), so bring clothes that will show one of those colors well. Also keep in mind that textured fabric and seams are hard to print on and often produce less-than-ideal outcomes.
- Dance shoes: nice dances shoes for their nice dance floor, as well as not super nice dance shoes for both a 3 hundred year old hardwood floor as well as for dancing on concrete. We will be dancing on it all!
- Can't Figure Out How To Pay? Or are you paying from an account in USD: Click HERE to Pay With A Credit Card. It costs a lot more, but still works!