Nos lowen (former spellingnoze looan) is a style ofCornish-Celticdance, and associated music and events similar in style to theBretonfest noz but featuring only Cornish dances.nos lowen isCornish for 'happy night'.[1]
Nos lowen is a relatively recent development in Cornish music and dance, which started in the 1990s, some twenty years after the beginning of the revival of Cornish dancing generally. It may be a reaction to the more formal approaches of the earlier revival, in which the social dance night, known as thetroyl, presented the Cornish dances in the style of a Scottish or Irishcèilidh. Thenos lowen approach on the other hand was inspired by the Bretonfest noz format, which itself had emerged in the 1960s. Bothnos lowen andfest noz were new ways of celebrating what were often quite ancient dances from their respective regions.Nos lowen was initially spearheaded by the Cornish group Sowena, and traditional dancers. It places greater emphasis on simpler dances, which are also often the oldest ones, such assnake dances andfurry dances, in order to increase participation and remove the need for a caller. Thenos lowen movement continues to enjoy much success in Cornwall as does thetroyl approach.
Whilenos lowen is essentially a dance style, an associated style of music has grown around it which is generally more progressive than many folk bands, possibly to appeal to a younger audience. It also places more emphasis on rhythms and longer songs in order to produce the tribal trance-like state associated with the repetitive dances. Proponents include Tredanek,Dalla, Davey & Dyer, and Heb Mar.
The proper Cornish plural ofnos lowen isnosow lowen, but people often simply say "nos lowens" when speaking English, in the same way people might pluralise "ceilidhs" in English.Nos lowen is sometimes abbreviated as "nsl" online or in event listings. The earlier spellingnoze looan was based on theLate Cornish orthography; with the introduction of theStandard Written Cornish, the spellingnos lowen is now used.
