What's on this week: 18-24 August

The Ancienne Belgique-curated midday concerts in the Royal Park known as Boterhammen in het Park are back and feature a different artist every day performing in the lovely bandstand in the park. Sandwiches optional. Meanwhile, the festival with all the Es, Feeërieeën, is also an Ancienne Belgique-curated festival taking place in the Royal Park bandstand at night and this year it features postclassical meets Radiohead, jazz, global sounds from Niger to Anatolia and electronica from the ghettos of Lisbon.
21-25 August, Royal Park, Brussels, free.

Looking for live music in offbeat, weird, unusual or beautiful spaces? Then Muziekpublique's Hide & Seek Festival will bring you joy. From a mushroom basement farm in Anderlecht to the Art Deco splendour of the Villa Empain via the Tram Museum, Laeken cemetery, the public baths, a gym, the Petit Château immigration centre, the plaster statue reproduction centre of the Royal Museum of Art and History and even the 27th floor of a high-rise for a sunrise concert, they've got you covered. The music program is composed of acoustic concerts of traditional world music.
21-27 August, around Brussels

If you are looking for something to do on Monday evening here's a possibility: Pretentious Mondays is back. It's a "New York style rooftop terrace with stunning views" from uptown Brussels with lounge music and cocktails. This Monday it's DJ Mash.
21 August, Mondays until mid-September, Cospaia, Rue Capitaine Crespel 1, Ixelles

The opening exhibition at the new MAD Brussels building is closing on Sunday. The exhibition "Occupation: Designer - Brussels vision on design" reveals the diversity of design across borders by representing the many visions developed by six designers who live and work in Brussels and operate on a global scale. Viewing the exhibition is a great way to discover the intriguing architecture of the new centre.
Until 20 August, MAD, Brussels

Urban Street Dance (pictured above) is an annual dance platform open to all Belgian youth as well as world urban arts specialists. The sixth edition of Urban Street Dance Matissa will take place on Wednesday in front of the stock exchange building in central Brussels with all sorts of dance styles, martial arts, BMX and motorcycles. Registration battles start at noon, programme from 13.00-23.00, with special guests from Norway, Korea, Russia and the US.
23 August, Brussels

Four sculptures by two contemporary Belgian artists are temporarily on display outdoors along Boulevard Anspach in the pedestrian zone. This is an initiative of the Villa Empain and Brussels Culture Department. The somewhat jarring juxtaposition of academic sculptures displayed between a hardware store and a chocolate boutique is the point - taking art out of museums and into daily life. The exhibition includes texts relating to the artists and their work.
Until 4 September, Boulevard Anspach, Brussels

The Brigittines Art Centre, housed in a stripped-down Baroque church and its contemporary mirror image building, is holding its International Festival of Dance. This year it's entitled The Power of Night because "we must get lost in the shadows and darkness to fully realise the truth of light." On 18-19 August it's Seven Pleasures "which explores desire and its representation in a world where omnipresent sexuality infiltrates all social relationships". 21-22 August is The Black Piece which is "a second-degree suspense story which leaves false trails and real trouble" and on 23 August it's And it Burns, Burns, Burns. A Portrait of Prometheus which is a "mysterious reverie".
Until 2 September, Les Brigittines, Brussels

What do you get when you combine a beautiful Baroque village, a gorgeous natural setting along the meandering Semois river and 200 artists in 50 professional groups from Belgium, Europe and even beyond? The answer is a magical weekend in Gaume, the southernmost region in Belgium, also the home to exceptional food (the warm Paté Gaumais baked in its crust is just one of the local specialties and Orval is the local beer). The Chassepierre Festival literally takes over the entire village (traffic is banned for the occasion) with the best in street theatre arts. The performances take place in the streets and squares, the buildings, the parks and fields, and along the river. This year, the 44th edition is entitled Sens et Contre-Sens (With the Flow/Against the Grain) and features (among many others) the UK duo Gandini Juggling who rock their rhythms, the French tightrope walkers Cie La Migration who mingle landscape, poetry and equilibrium with their strange cyclical machine, while the also French Grandet Douglas' magic carpet will fly balancing a piano. The Belgian Cie Rode Boom will have you questioning logical thought as you doubt the reliability of your perceptions and the Commandos Percu’s flaming musicians will light things up as they perform their music. If you'd rather not drive, you can take the train and there is a special bus shuttle from Marbehan train station.
19-20 August, performances 13.00-0.00

If Gaume is too far to go you can stay in Brussels and still enjoy a complete programme of music, theatre, storytelling and circus and street arts. For four days, the Festival Théâtres Nomades takes over the Royal Park with its colourful big and small tops. This 11th edition continues the tradition with strongly visual, emotionally engaging acts, many of which are completely understandable regardless of your native language. If you don't know which shows to choose, the crew manning the info booth will be happy to guide you.
17-20 August, free but some shows require reservations

Hailing all the way from Asheville, North Carolina, The Resonant Rogues’ influences range from gypsy swing and early New Orleans jazz to Appalachian old-time and eastern European folk music.
19 August 20.00, Rock Classic Bar, Rue du Marché au Charbon 55, Brussels