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Culture beat - February 14

15:56 14/02/2013

 

A touch of burlesque, Brussels feels the tap beat and a cultural festival that questions the urban environment




In honour of the patron saint of love, Burlesque Follies presents a Valentine-themed cabaret at La Tentation tomorrow. A bevy of beauties, including two male performers, Benny Blue and George Bangable, await to titillate and entertain… while DJ’Ette Blanche monitors the afterparty. Meanwhile, cultural centre La Tentation launches a series of lunchtime activities three times a week from February 19, called Bouchée culturelle. Workshops, music and roundtable conversations from Tuesday to Thursday, 12.30-13.30, with the brasserie open from 11.30-14.30.

Tap dancing is culture blending at its best. The genre made famous by Broadway and Fred Astaire is currently enjoying a revival thanks to the Oscar-winning film The Artist. American tap arrives in Brussels with a two-day choreography workshop (for all levels) in the studios of Fred Academy on February 15 and 16, followed by two show-stopping performances at Bozar on February 17. The capital’s first ever tap festival, Tap Tonight 2013, is attracting professional dancers and choreographers from both sides of the Atlantic. It appears there’s no better time to start hoofing.



Tok Toc Knock Festival II is the second part of an urban city project that focuses on Brussels’ smallest commune, Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode. From February 16 to March 3, ten largely unknown venues stage a series of KVS productions, new works, performances, concerts, exhibitions, tours and talks inspired by the culturally diverse commune. The festival centre is Le Thé au Harem, which hosts a roundtable discussion on the integration of minority cultures.

Looking ahead, the Bulgarian section of the charity organisation Association Femmes d’Europe has brought together a clutch of prestigious international musicians for a special concert at the Royal Conservatory on February 27. The three soloists, Bulgarian pianist Plamena Mangova, violinist Natalia Prischepenko from Russia and German cellist Sebastian Klinger, will perform a programme of Brahms, Shostakovich, Beethoven and Dvorak. Proceeds go to a project that helps the homeless. Reservations by email.

Bozar’s new English-language book club continues with a discussion on Franco-Belgian writer Marguerite Yourcenar’s masterpiece Memoirs of Hadrian on February 19. First published in French in 1951, the work is a fictionalised autobiography of the Roman emperor; a full-blown and convincing portrait that transforms a historical figure into one of the more memorable characters in literature. New York-based French writer with Iranian roots Lila Azam Zanganeh (pictured below) leads the discussion.



Outside Brussels

The International Love Film Festival in Mons is an annual rendezvous for movie lovers. This year the event continues its focus on lesser-known world cinema by hooking up with the Bulgarian film fest Love is Folly. It also maintains its mission of screening films that deal with love in all its forms, from mainstream and art house cinema. With more than 100 films from 47 countries, numerous premieres and celebrity guests from the world of cinema, this is one date not worth missing.


Written by Sarah Crew