dance
Alex Metric: the man with a studio tan
The 29-year-old British DJ and producer takes us on his own brief musical journey of electronic music as we await the remixes on his new disc Open Your Eyes. The eponymous first single, an intriguing collaboration with DJ Angello of Swedish House Mafia, is out this January
dance, alex metric, great-britain, rennes, dj, brunch, london
Top tips from Parisian music festival Solidays
A few glimpses dedicated to the 168 000 public that attended Solidays – the second biggest music festival in France after les Vieilles Charrues – and without whom the festival would be just another line up of stars
dance, party, aids, solidays, no b day, nicolas sarkozy, silvio berlusconi
It takes two to tango
A selection of dance-related pan-European expressions will have people dancing 'on graves' in the UK, 'around noses' or 'in many weddings' in Germany or 'with the ugliest' in Spain - but what do all these sayings and proverbs mean? Jumpity idiom of the week
‘If I had to choose between sex and performing live with The Whitest Boy Alive...’
One day it was just computers. The next day, god brought instruments. Over the past decade, the Berlin-based band’s polyphonic electronic sound has translated into pure deprogrammed happiness for live dance fans across Europe. We hear the boys from Bergen, Berlin and Toruń out
dance, concert, bands, brunch, best of cafebabel.com, norway, berlin
Party burnout in Paris, so go to Berlin
'Sssssh, go in quickly,' whispers the bouncer of the electro bar 4Elements on the Place de la Republique. The lights are out in the flat above. It is 11pm, a Saturday evening in Paris. The one-time nightlife mecca of Europe is turning into a sleepy little town, a trend that threatens to continue
dance, party, lifestyle, alcohol, youth, phil stumpf, underground
European versions of 'Nobody puts baby in a corner'
On 14 September American actor Patrick Swayze died of pancreatic cancer, aged 57. Generations of teenage – and grown-up girls – knew him as the hunky dance teacher of the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, a cult hit in Europe
dance, tower of babel, expressions, united states, patrick swayze, usa, language
A cultural cacophony; international festival in Germany
'Beirut? Isn't that in the near East?' You frequently hear this question when telling European friends about the Festival of Young Artists in Bayreuth. Has anyone other than avowed Wagner admirers heard of this small town deep in the franconian province?
dance, arts, germany, palestine occupied territory, youth, classical music, israel
Miss Marion: the French burlesque star will 'tease you until you die'
The 32-year-old from Normandy performs a 'slowed-down' version of burlesque. A dance historically popular in eras of depression, her latest show updates the genre, combining nipple tassels and an iPhone - an accessible escape for Europeans in recession
dance, economical crisis, feminism, sex, brunch, tradition, burlesque
Events: Isle of Wight Woodstock and more in June
German-Czech festivals, strangers filming in Amsterdam and pure dance in London and Luxembourg - our pick of this month's best happenings
dance, cinema, film, isle of wight festival, culture calendar, fête de la musique, european tour
Flamenco – Andalusia’s jazz
Flamenco is on a roll. Shows tour all over Europe and hundreds of people travel to Seville in the hope of establishing themselves as professional dancers. But on the dance floor, the native Andalusians are holding onto their tradition and are reticent to share their heritage with outsiders.
dance, andalusien, culture, seville, tradition, flamenco, seville
Cuba: backstreet with an escape route
In the first of our ‘rock and backpack’ series, we discover Havana - the cultural centre of a Cuba in which everyone has the ability to produce something, but few express themselves
dance, havana, tourism, cuba, travel, latin america, communism
Political choreographers: Alexandre and Natalia Furman
Art is politics: the third part of our series on portraits of artists attempting to resist the 'cultural Chernobyl’, which reigns in Belarus, a country asphyxiated by the authoritarian regime of president Alexander Lukashenko
dance, non-eu countries, minsk, belarus, alexander lukashenko, culture
Free Theatre of Minsk: onstage resistance
The Belarusian independent theatre company uses black humour and underground performances to protest against 'Europe's last dictatorship'
dance, censorship, post-soviet states, paris, theatre, festivals, minsk
Eleonora Abbagnato, shooting star
Through dedication and perseverance, this 28-year-old Sicilian has risen to the ranks of prima ballerina in the Paris Opera
Gypsy in the mix
Dispelling stereotypes of gypsy music being about old men singing in restaurants, today’s DJs are showing that it remains a vibrant and powerful form of music
dance, contemporary art, balkans, nationalism, immigration, discrimination, europe
