Between 10 May and 6 June 2021, a host of activities invited us to explore the connection between body and voice, with ‘Singing Brussels. Move Your Body, Find Your Voice’. After a series of online workshops and conferences, we had the pleasure of closing the festival with a week of in-person workshops at See U and the Maison des Cultures in Molenbeek. Nearly 1,000 participants joined us online, and 220 attended the in-person workshops to (re)discover a variety of practices: singing, stepping, body percussion, beatbox, yoga of sound, rhythms and more... come rain or shine!
Singing Brussels also offered a host of sideline activities, allowing a varied audience the chance to learn different body or vocal techniques. In close collaboration with Orfeo, Bozar organised workshops in associations across Brussels, including beatbox for young people hosted by the Samusocial, singing in the Séniorie de Bizet retirement home, rhythms in the Den Teirling association, body drumming at the women's shelter Chèvrefeuille, and dance and singing in the PCS Akarova association.
And as always, Singing Brussels also involved Cantania, an educational project run by Bozar for primary schools in Brussels in collaboration with the Belgian National Orchestra. We cannot but congratulate the 485 pupils and 32 teachers who, despite a disrupted school year, managed to learn the cantata L’école en cavale, and continued to sing in the classroom.
Thank you to the artists and the public for participating, despite the difficult conditions surrounding this year’s event. We look forward to welcoming you at the next edition!
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Thank you to the artists: Briana Ashley Stuart, Laure Stehlin, Thomas Moors, Leen Diependaele, Desta Haile, Supernova, Gwenaël Francotte, Hannelore Primusz, Claire Labye, Sarah Klenes, Katelijn Vanhoutte, Tom Johnson, Katarina Van Droogenbroeck, Maria Helena Schoeps et Morena Brindisi (Intersongs), Klay Mawungu & Super Rumba, Baptiste Vaes, Gaspard Herblot, François Vaiana, Paul Smith, Patricia Van Cutsem, Clara Legros, Catherine Maufroy, Sylvia Planche, Big Ben, Robbe Kieckens.
Thank you to our partners for their invaluable support: Koor&Stem, À Cœur Joie, Födekam, Orfeo, See U, Maison des Cultures et de la Cohésion Sociale de Molenbeek, Musiq’3, Allez, Chantez !, Fondation Engie, Loterie Nationale, BNP Paribas Fortis, Maene, Futur 21, Classical Futures Europe, Creative Europe, Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Ministerie Vlaamse Gemeenschap.