Footprints

Nerea Gourlaouen Alonso combines elegance and strength in her powerful interpretation of traditional and modern fiddle repertoire. She was born in California from a French father and Spanish mother, raised in Cape Breton Island, Canada. There she was possessed with a love of music and dance. With teachings of various masters, she learned how to play the traditional fiddle music of the isolated island, lost on the Atlantic coast of Canada. Music arrived to this area with the Scottish immigrants in the late 1700’s. Adding a little flavor from other cultures on the island (Irish, French and Aboriginal), a beautiful mosaic of music was created and has been preserved to this day. Nerea took this ancient tradition in her hands creating a unique performance combining music and stepdancing that she has played throughout Europe and North America. She has played with several groups in the past and present. Including the Breton dance troupe Eostiged Ar Stangala for their 2006 summer tour « Breizh Side Storiou », which they won 1st place for at the Festival de Danse de Guingamp. She currently lives in France where she plays with Kalon Goat (a fiddle ensemble), Eskell an Elorn (a Breton dance troupe) and primarily as a soloist. In May 2007 she released her first Cape Breton solo album, Footprints and she has just received a nomination for a Canadian Folk Music Award.