As part of the Urdd's international projects that share our language and culture, three of the Urdd's projects travelled to the Lorient Interceltique festival which took place from 12-18 August. The festival attracts over 700,000 visitors annually to enjoy Celtic music and culture. The theme of this year's festival was youth, and the Urdd had for the first time been invited to be a part of the celebration.
Following an open application process, Aelwyd yr Ynys was selected as the successful choir that performed in the Urdd's name at the festival. And thanks to the financial support of the TAITH scheme, two other Urdd projects had the opportunity to travel, which were Twmpdaith and the Plethu Project.
Twmpdaith is a project organised by the 'Project Eight' scheme to promote traditional Welsh dancing amongst a younger audience in Wales. The scheme was trialled in 2023 and is back again this year offering 9 young musicians the opportunity to work over the summer months in Wales hosting various Twmpath across Wales with the culmination of travelling to Lorient to perform and learn from some of the other Celtic traditions.
The Plethu Project bring together groups of young people across Wales to collaborate and experiment with the arts to create performances and art. These two projects are Fitzalan High School and Clocsiwyr Conwy, interweaving project which weaves traditional Welsh stripping with Bollywood and Roma dancing. The rhythms, and various patterns create a feast for the eyes and ears. The group of young people have shared their own traditions to create a contemporary assortment that showcases identity.