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franceslievensIt was a weekend fully packed with stuff to do. On Saturday the Zinneke Parade went through the city. That was fun, although it was cold and windy and I had to dress up as if it was still winter. (I can't wait till we get our anual May heatwave.)
What is the Zinneke Parade? It's installed 4 years ago, when Brussels was the cultural capital of Europe, along with some other cities. It's a way to bring communities closer together and let the Zinnekes take over the streets for one day every two years. A Zinneke is actually a Brussels' street dog, but the word is also used for the true inhabitant of Brussels, especially the younger kids that play in the streets. For the parade different communities in Brussels work together with artists to make costumes, giants, rehearse dance and music. Musical instruments are -- again -- instruments of the street: home made drums and the occasional brass band. Multiculturality is another prominent feature of the Zinneke Parade. Turkish, Marrocan, Congolese... people all work on dances and music and bring in their own cultural bagage. So we get African rythm, Berber song and Turkish dance, alongside a very Belgian brassband, that plays Balkan music. Zinneke Parade means party in the street. And although it was cold and the sky looked as if it could rain any second, the atmosphere was grand.
I didn't see the complete parade, but made pictures. Once I've finished that film roll and it's developed, I'll post some on here.
In the evening I went to "Bloody Mess" by Forced Entertainment. This Sheffield based theatre group, is one of my favourite at the moment, and I try to catch some of their performances whenever they're in Belgium. The title gives away the most of the performance: it's a bloody mess, but a good one, one that makes you think. And laugh. That's the thing I like most about Forced Entertainment: they're able to make you think through laughing. The snark wasn't as omnipresent as in another piece I've seen of this group, "First Night". I missed that snarkiness a bit. I like it when theatre bites you in the butt, although you've been laughing your ass off. It's a trait Tim Etchells -- director & writer with Forced Entertainment -- has, and it's what makes him one of my favourite theatre writers at the moment.
What is the Zinneke Parade? It's installed 4 years ago, when Brussels was the cultural capital of Europe, along with some other cities. It's a way to bring communities closer together and let the Zinnekes take over the streets for one day every two years. A Zinneke is actually a Brussels' street dog, but the word is also used for the true inhabitant of Brussels, especially the younger kids that play in the streets. For the parade different communities in Brussels work together with artists to make costumes, giants, rehearse dance and music. Musical instruments are -- again -- instruments of the street: home made drums and the occasional brass band. Multiculturality is another prominent feature of the Zinneke Parade. Turkish, Marrocan, Congolese... people all work on dances and music and bring in their own cultural bagage. So we get African rythm, Berber song and Turkish dance, alongside a very Belgian brassband, that plays Balkan music. Zinneke Parade means party in the street. And although it was cold and the sky looked as if it could rain any second, the atmosphere was grand.
I didn't see the complete parade, but made pictures. Once I've finished that film roll and it's developed, I'll post some on here.
In the evening I went to "Bloody Mess" by Forced Entertainment. This Sheffield based theatre group, is one of my favourite at the moment, and I try to catch some of their performances whenever they're in Belgium. The title gives away the most of the performance: it's a bloody mess, but a good one, one that makes you think. And laugh. That's the thing I like most about Forced Entertainment: they're able to make you think through laughing. The snark wasn't as omnipresent as in another piece I've seen of this group, "First Night". I missed that snarkiness a bit. I like it when theatre bites you in the butt, although you've been laughing your ass off. It's a trait Tim Etchells -- director & writer with Forced Entertainment -- has, and it's what makes him one of my favourite theatre writers at the moment.
