Festival Lézarts Danses Urbaines

Lezarts Urbains and KVS are joining forces for a second time to organise the Festival Lezarts Danses Urbaines, a sample card of the rich landscape of urban dance in Belgium and beyond. All weekend long the festival presents a diverse range of creations, techniques and styles, from brief choreographed excerpts to fully produced shows, from amateur crews and dance academies to up-and-coming artists and professional crews.

Part of the program will be curated by the young dance collective Kwanzaa, brought together for the occasion by Lezarts Urbains. It will be interspersed with DJ sessions - with some world-class names - giving the audience the opportunity to have their own dance party. You can also get to know a new dance battle concept, as playful as it is spectacular, also conceived by the Kwanzaa collective.

Every festival day has a an international heavyweight headliner: on Saturday it's Näss by Fouad Boussoufs company Massala and on Sunday Au fil du temps by Samantha Mavinga and Corpeaurelles. Two powerful performances full of beauty and refinement that question our vision of immigration.

PROGRAMME SATURDAY

16:30 CONFERENCE

“She persisted " Femal urban dancers and choreographers: representation within and impact on the urban dance scene.

18:00 Focus on choreographic shows and hip hop dance creations

Smaller forms and choregraphic shows:

• Hendrickx Ntela and Joelle Sambi [Krump and slam]
• Kwanzaa [Hip hop dance]
• Musicality Is The Key by Cie Air Blow [Beat box, breakdance, deejaying and acrobatics]
• Temps Danses Urbaines [Hiphop]

Discover the results from the collaboration between the French choreographer Antoinette Gomis and some selected crews.

Dimension

Creation for 6 dancers [BE]
Crew FUNKY FEET (25min)

Näss

Creation for 7 dancers [FR]
FOUAD BOUSSOUF, CIE MASSALA (50min)

Näss, a world renowned creation by French-Moroccan choreographer Fouad Boussouf, unfolds like a dialogue between the traditional dances and music of Morocco which he grew up with, and the contemporary hip hop vocabulary. The result is an experience that is simultaneously mystical and physical. Seven men, seven dancers, celebrate the power of their unity with an intense, acrobatic performance. Their driver: constant, enchanting rhythms from ancient times, that have borne witness to the faith of the North African peoples.

Fouad Boussouf developed his artistic signature with his company Massala, on the crossroads between pure hip hop, contemporary dance and circus. For this production he takes inspiration from his roots and dance traditions, expertly infused with urban cultures. By transcending the boundaries between the sacred and the profane, between the haste of modernity and the devotion to rituals, Näss – Arabic for ‘the people’ – shakes viewers to the core.

21:30 > 23:30 SESSION CA DANSE #10

The principle remains the same... regardless of style, level, age: get up and jump into the cypher. Welcome to Session Ça Danse! With DJ Sonar [BE] & John Agesilas [NL] and dancer Zach Swagga, creator of the concept, as host.

PROGRAMME SUNDAY

15:00 CONFERENCE

"Can she kick it? " Representation and contributions of Femcees to rap culture, in the framework of the publication of « Ladies First” by Sylvain Bertot

16:30 > 22:30 Focus on choreographic shows and hip hop dance creation

+ Battle and Cypher with the Kwanzaa collective

• Temps Danses Urbaines [Hip hop]
• One Nation Crew [Hip hop]
• Barhal [Hip hop]

Discover the results from the collaborations between French choreographer Antoinette Gomis and some selected crews.

Au fil du temps

Creation for 4 Dancers [BE]
Samantha Mavinga, Hendrickx Ntela, Raquel Suarez and Sarah Bidaw - Cie CORPEAURELLES
(30min)

Dress

Excerpt from the creation for 5 dancers [FR]
Carmel Loanga (15 min)

Battle Astral and Cypher from the Kwanzaa collective, With DJ Serge from Wanted Groove Collectif and DJ Alex The Cage

The Kwanzaa collective is turning what you think you know about battles upside down! They came up with a new concept, which you will discover live during the festival. The battle is open to all dance styles, but you only dance to house and hip-hop music. Dancers compete one on one in technical tests and challenges. These are aimed at pushing them to the limit in terms of creativity and originality. This way they share their skills and techniques with each other and with the audience.

Another thing that makes the Kwanzaa concept stand out: the preselections take place in the form of a cypher, in which an anonymous jury is present, which selects the finalists. Anyone who wants to take part in the final has to give it all during the first part, without knowing who can send him or her to the final. The cypher is followed by a DJ set.