What’s on 27 Feb-5 Mar 2025

Feb 27

⭐ This Week's Top Picks

SLOW (36H). Take in this arts festival to pause and reflect, in a society that is all too often rushing forward.

Beethoven: The Seventh in an unseen energetic performance. The British Aurora Orchestra is an energetic group of top musicians who play masterpieces upright and by heart. Enjoy!

Expo Bodyworlds. Visit this award-winning exhibition showcasing real, plasticised human bodies. Explore the functions, development, and resilience of the human body while learning about the effects of diseases and lifestyle choices.

🎨 🎻 🧺 Art, Music & Markets

SLOW (36H). An arts festival of slowness 1-2 Mar, with features including these (and more) at the Concertgebow (‘t Zand 34):

“During this fourth edition of the arts festival of slowness, we give you 36 hours to pause and reflect, in a society that is all too often rushing forward. Inspired by ancient and other cultures, you then start to regard time as ‘costly’ and get maximal enjoyment from minimal resources. And there is plenty to enjoy: from a complete performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites to an eight-hour-long performance of Spem in alium; from the frugal notes of Erik Satie to the ambient of the Echo Collective; from soul-stirring Sufi music to a trail through five enthralling sound installations. Mindfulness and breathing workshops, a meditative tea ceremony and an invigorating forest-bathing walk put you in the perfect mood. Follow your intuition, and forget the clock!”

A festival pass costs €95. See the website for information on all the activities offered. https://www.concertgebouw.be/en/slow-36h-1

Transitional Dance: Workshops. “Choreographer and Dance in Bruges Maker Michiel Vandevelde is developing a new dance transition ritual especially for the city of Bruges. How do you dance for the transition from one phase of life to another? How can a dance ritual contribute to celebrating change? Vandevelde focuses primarily on hip movements for his choreography. The hips are not only associated with birth, but also with seduction, with the generation of new life.

Or as Vandevelde puts it: 'Transitional dance is a celebration of the potential of life, and especially of the potential for change during life.' He gives this dance to dance lovers who feel like committing to bring this dance ritual into the public space every month to celebrate all kinds of possible transitions. The dancers form a community that takes care of the performance and passing on the dance to others. In this way, they start a ritual that can last forever. Anyone who wants to dive into this rite of passage together is invited to follow the workshops in which the choreography is taught. These workshops are open to anyone interested in movement (no dance experience required).”

This series of FREE workshops start at KAAP, The Groenplaats, Groenestraat 19B on 24 Feb, 19:00, and will run each week until 17 Mar. To register to take part email Hanne at hanne@kaap.be. https://www.kaap.be/toont/transitional-dance-0

Beethoven: The Seventh in an unseen energetic performance. “The British Aurora Orchestra is an outlier. This energetic group of top musicians plays masterpieces upright and by heart. This is unprecedented for an orchestra. At least as refreshing is the engaging way young South African Abel Selaocoe handles his cello. And before you know it, he starts singing too. A surprising evening, you have been warned!” Tickets: €28-52. 6 Mar, 20:00 Concertgebouw, concertzaal, ‘t Zand 34. https://www.concertgebouw.be/nl/aurora-orchestra-abel-selaocoe

The Last Beach - Diego Latruwe & 8 other artists. “This season, we are once again crowning our resident artist as curator. A fascinating exhibition where his art is confronted with work by other artists. Together with nine other artists with whom he has an affinity, Diego Latruwe is developing an exhibition around themes such as decay, repetition and infinity. They draw inspiration from HG Wells, Michel Houellebecq and Jorge Luis Borges. The Last Beach is an exhibition that reaches towards the end of time. It poses pertinent questions: how do we conserve, fragment and reproduce, while the sea level threatens to rise above our heads and the world is in constant flux?” Until 9 Mar. FREE. Exhibition space Poortersloge - Kraanrei 19.

https://www.ccbrugge.be/agenda/4369/the-last-beach/diego-latruwe-en-8-kunstenaars?slash2=

Exhibition: 600 Years of Anselm Adornes. Anselm Adornes (1424–1483) was a prominent merchant, diplomat, and knight from Bruges. Of Genoese descent, he played a key role in international trade and politics, serving as an envoy for the Dukes of Burgundy. Adornes is best known for his pilgrimage to Jerusalem and his involvement in religious and cultural projects, including the construction of the Jerusalem Chapel in Bruges, inspired by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. His life reflects the dynamic exchange between commerce, diplomacy, and devotion in medieval Europe. A standard ticket costs €10. Until 1 Mar. Adornesdomein & Jeruzalemkapel (Peperstraat 3). https://www.adornes.org/en-home

Weekly markets. The Saturday market (1 Mar) will be on ‘t Zand and the market on Wednesday (5 Mar) will be on the Grote Markt/Burg.

🎬 🎭 Stage, Screen, and Scene

Theatre - Dance: Void. “Already during the creation period of Infamous Offspring, a grand performance full of mythological figures, Void took shape in the mind of Wim Vandekeybus. A return to 'less', to 'smaller', 'emptier', but at least as valuable. In Void, Vandekeybus admits the emptiness - more than that, he seeks it out. He starts over, goes back to square one and takes the simple emptiness as a starting point to arrive at a new form of perception. The true essence requires throwing all ballast overboard. Together with five dancers, he searches for movement as an expression of the deepest inner state.” Tickets: €11-26. 27 Feb, 20:00. Stadsschouwburg Brugge, Vlamingstraat 29. https://www.visitbruges.be/en/whats-on/events-calendar/void-ultima-vez-wim-vandekeybus

Cinema. Cinema Lumière (Sint-Jakobsstraat 36) will be showing a variety of films over the next week. These include A Complete Unknown, The Brutalist, Maria, and I’m Still Here. Ticket prices are up to €12, with a family film option before 16:30 costing €9. Visit the cinema’s website for films, timings and bookings: https://lumiere-brugge.be/agenda-lumiere-brugge/

Kinepolis (Koning Albert l-laan 200) will offer films over the coming week including Captain America: Brave New World, Paddington in Peru, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, and September 5. A standard ticket costs €14,10. Visit https://kinepolis.be/nl/nl/movies/overview/ for more information and bookings.

⚽ Game On: Sports & Recreation

Football fans visiting Bruges can watch the city’s two world famous clubs, Brugge KSV (“Club Brugge”) and Cercle Brugge KSV (“Cercle Brugge”) play during the season at the city’s Jan Breydel stadium (Koning Leopold III-laan 50).

Cercle will play Royal Antwerp FC on 1 Mar, 16:00 in the Jupiler Pro League. Tickets: https://cerclebrugge.be/en/ticketing

Club Brugge will meet Aston Villa in the UEFA Champions League on 4 Mar, 18:45.Tickets: https://tickets.clubbrugge.be/

🍻🎶 Bruges After Dark: Nightlife

Elias D'hooge Trio @Izzy jazzclub Brugge. “With our trio, we want to tell our own unique story through original compositions rooted in stories, dreams, and great inspirations. We blend jazz tradition with more modern musical concepts of improvisation and composition in a way that allows us to start a conversation that can be fun, humorous, tense, or sad… Engaging in a conversation with each other, our inner selves, and the audience through musical parameters and the beautiful language of "jazz" allows us to enjoy ourselves both on and off the stage. In February 2023, the trio was selected as the first finalist of the B-Jazz International Contest. The jury then described it as a "powerful, original set – a story or suite – that takes you through various moods. Everything is meticulously crafted." Tickets: €15-20. 7 Mar, 20:00. Estaminet 't Hamerken in brouwerij De Halve Maan, Walplein 26. https://www.izzyjazzclub.com/ https://www.izzyjazzclub.com/tickets.html

🌈 Family Fun: Events & Adventures

Travelling exhibition. The exhibition is based on a creative interpretation of Bohdan Hawrylyshyn's Declaration of Human Responsibilities by Ukrainian artists pictoric.ua. One of the main messages of the exhibition is a call for other countries to support and institute Human Responsibility Day, emphasising the importance of responsibility at every level of one's existence. Human responsibility as a guiding principle is universal for all. FREE. Until 7 Mar. Huis van de Bruggeling, Frank van Ackerpromenade 2.

https://www.visitbruges.be/en/whats-on/events-calendar/traveling-exhibition

https://www.supportukraine-pic.com/

Expo Culinair - Handmade in Brugge. “Culinary creators from Handmade in Brugge will share insights into their craft and showcase what sets them apart. The focus is on the production process, with objects from their workshops, kitchens, or studios taking centre stage. In addition to the exhibition, you’ll also have the chance to dive deeper into their craft through studio visits, tastings, and demo workshops.” FREE. Until 29 Mar, 10:30-17:30. Sashuis - Handmade in Brugge Shop, Wijngaardplein 14. https://www.handmadeinbrugge.be/agenda/expo-culinair

Concertgebouw tours. The concert hall offers tours of its architecture and (sound) art exhibition. https://www.concertgebouw.be/nl/concertgebouw-circuit Guided tours are available on some days, including on 5 Mar. Tickets: €6-12, FREE for children under 6. Concertgebouw ('t Zand 34.) https://ticketshop.ticketmatic.com/concertgebouw/shop

🌤️🌧️ Weather

The outlook is mixed, with rain, cloud and some sunny spells into next week. Expect foggy mornings this weekend and Monday. Top daytime temperatures will be around 7-12°C.

Find latest forecasts covering Bruges at: https://www.meteo.be/en/belgium

Dawn Nell