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Flanders today

january 29, 201 4 current affairs

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Sam Louwyck has stopped dancing, but he has plenty of music on his mind Tom Peeters

He’s played pool with Jeff Buckley, looked deep into the eyes of Amy Winehouse and danced with Patti Smith, but he had never been in a rock band – until the guys of Falling Man asked him if he wanted to be their frontman. Actor Sam Louwyck gave up his career as a dancer only last year. Now he feels like starting all over again

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ost musicians’ rock or punk careers start in their teenage years. But 47-year-old Sam Louwyck had turned grey before he felt there was something

missing.

Born in Bruges, Louwyck is now known mostly as an actor, but he travelled the world as a dancer in Alain Platel’s Les Ballets C de la B in the 1990s and only slowly worked his trademark wiry frame and shaggy hair into the movies.

An early highlight was his inspiring delivery of “Windman” in Flemish musician Tom Barman’s one and only film Any Way The Wind Blows, in which the movements of his body created wind. It seemed the perfect transition from dance to film.

But as the roles continued to come, he was too often cast as the bad guy. Finally, in the last few years, he’s been allowed to break out with a remarkable diversity. You’ve probably seen him in one or more high-profile projects: as an illegal hormone trader in the Oscar-nominated Rundskop (Bullhead), the humble beekeeper in the quietly chilling The Fifth Season, a guilt-ridden security guard in 22 Mei or in the TV comedy series Eigen kweek.

But this year could be Louwyck’s biggest, with roles in at least five films, including a leading role next to Italian superstar Monica Bellucci.

It was between the Tuscany set of Le Meraviglie (When You Were Born), a German-Italian-Swiss coproduction, and Yellow Tapes Studio in Ghent where the eponymous debut album of his band Falling Man was recorded last summer, that Louwyck’s new path fell into place.

“He was a bomb of creativity,” remembers Sven De Potter, Falling Man’s drummer. “When we were recording, he was also in this movie. That was a curse and a blessing for us; he couldn’t be there all the time, but it helped him to focus on his vocals. The two artistic challenges were feeding off each other.”

When asked what exactly he brought from Italy to Ghent, De Potter says jokingly “a beard”. `` continued on page 5

current affairs

Flanders today

January 29, 2014

Stolen art found in museums Hundreds of works of art stolen by the Nazis were gifted to local museums after retrieval after the war, successive Belgian governments made an effort to retrieve stolen works. About 1,150 works were recovered – far fewer than those recovered in the Netherlands, at 6,891, or France with a massive 30,207.

Most of the returned works came into the possession of the state, with about one-third being sold in a series of auctions, which raised 3.3 million francs (about €82,500) for the public treasury. Another 639, including works by Jacob Jordaens, Hans Memling, Lucas Cranache and Pieter Breughel, were given homes in 15 museums.

Along with the fine arts museums, works are being held in the collections of the Groeninghuis museum in Bruges and the

Rubenshuis in Antwerp. One example is the painting “The Village Lawyer” by Breughel the Younger in Ghent (pictured). Other works

include Chinese, Roman, Greek and Islamic objects held by Brussels’ Royal Museums of Art and History.

According to one expert, not enough

The province of West Flanders is asking the federal government for last weekend’s storm to be declared a natural disaster, after the province was hard-hit by strong winds of up to 104 km/h, heavy rain, hail and even two whirlwinds, a minor form of twister. A natural disaster designation would mean that damage caused by the storm is eligible for compensation.

In the Rekkem district of Menen, about 12 kilometres south-west of Kortrijk, the entire upper floor of a farmhouse blew away, while the family of four was at home (pictured).

The father was taken to hospital with

© Kurt Desplenter / BELGA

Weekend storm wreaks havoc in West Flanders

serious injuries, after being freed from the rubble.

In Roeselare, two construction cranes toppled over. In other parts of the area, roof tiles blown down by gusting winds caused damage to homes and

parked cars. The area also suffered something of a plague of flying trampolines as the wind carried away anything that was movable.

In Ypres, the roof of one house was severely damaged, and falling trees caused damage to road surfaces.

The roof of a pig shed blew away in the area, and 600 pigs had to be evacuated. Eleven people were injured in the storm, 10 of whom were in a building in the coastal town of Koksijde that was struck by lightning.

The storm then passed eastwards over parts of East Flanders and Antwerp provinces, but by that time conditions were less severe. AH

Flemish opera and ballet fuse into “Kunsthuis” The Flemish Opera and the Royal Ballet of Flanders have completed their long-planned merger. From the 2014-2015 season, the new joint venture will be known as Kunsthuis (Art House).

“Ballet and opera are both art forms that bring many interdisciplinary arts together, and the Kunsthuis stands for the things that bind the two,” said Assis Carreiro, artistic director of the ballet.

Kunsthuis will continue to have a double home in Antwerp and in Ghent, with plans to perform in other parts of Flanders more in the future, as well as touring internationally.

Aside from the name Kunsthuis, the separate companies will also be

known in English as Opera Flanders and Royal Ballet Flanders.

The culture ministry’s decision to fuse the region’s ballet and opera, based on budget considerations, faced criticism when it was announced in 2010. It led to the departure of the ballet’s artistic director Kathryn Bennetts, an Australian choreographer who was credited with transforming the ballet’s reputation as a small, regional player to that of one of the finest companies in Europe.

Kunsthuis now becomes Flanders’ largest cultural institution, with an annual budget of €35 million, €24.5 million of it coming from the Flemish government. That includes an additional €791,000 subsidy

was done post-war to track down the owners of the works or more likely their surviving descendants.

Then as now, the federal government relies on those whose property is concerned to come forward with a claim.

“After the war, it would have been possible to find better solutions” than handing the works out to local museums, said Antwerp University history professor Herman Van Goethe, who is also conservator of Mechelen’s Holocaust museum. “The rightful owners could have been more actively sought,” he told De Standaard. “The very least that can be done now is for full information to be made public, and if there are claims, there is jurisprudence on which we can base decisions.”

Red Cross overwhelmed by stem cell donors While Red Cross Flanders receives more and more donations of stem cells from the public, they are running short of funds to analyse every donation, the organisation announced last week. Every donation costs €400 to analyse its suitability for transplantation.

The Red Cross’ budget over the last five years has allowed it to register 10,000 donors. The number of donors exceeded the limit each year, and a recent public appeal brought in an exceptional 2,500 candidates in a few weeks. But the budget, complained the Red Cross, doesn’t cover that many donors.

Riziv, the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance, said there is no problem. Spokesperson Ludwig Moens said that the quota of 10,000 registrations was established in consultation with the national bone marrow register, which is maintained mainly by the Red Cross. “We have not yet examined the possibility of increasing the budget because we have not received any request of that nature.”

According to Philippe Vandekerckhove, director-general of the Red Cross, all candidates who responded to the latest appeal will be tested, and the Red Cross will use its own funds if necessary.

Federal health minister Laurette Onkelinx is due to meet with the Red Cross and Riziv to seek a solution.

One avenue open to the Red Cross is to operate a more targeted selection of potential donors. Donations from younger donors or people of a particular ethnicity are more often required than those from older people for, example. AH © Wikimedia Commons

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ore than 300 artworks stolen by the Nazis from Belgians during the Second World War and never returned to the families who owned them are now in the possession of local museums, including the Fine Arts Museums of Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent, according to an investigation

by De Standaard.

The newspaper based its findings on the addendum to a report drawn up in 2008 in connection with restitution claims made by the Jewish community in Belgium. The addendum was never published.

The artworks are among thousands plundered by the Nazis during the Occupation, usually from Jews forced to emigrate or deported.

The works went to Germany, but,

© MSK Ghent

Alan Hope

announced last week by culture minister Joke Schauvliege.

The new organisation is headed

by Lena De Meerleer, who was previously director of productions at the Flemish public broadcaster VRT. Her first job at Kunsthuis will be to negotiate a new management agreement with the government, as well as new employment contracts for the staff. AH

THE WEEK IN FIGURES

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months to receive a reimbursement for experimental medications used to treat rare diseases, according to a new law passed by the federal parliament.

The procedure can currently take up to three years

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1,066

incidents of aggression against train conductors in 2013, down from a peak of 1,229 in 2011, thanks to more security personnel and trains equipped with cameras, NMBS said

20,414

living wills registered in Belgium in 2013 recording the wish of the person to be euthanised in cases where they become unable to express their wish at the time

9,771

complaints of aircraft noise lodged by 657 residents living in areas surrounding Brussels Airport in 2013, a sharp increase from 2012

355 million

journeys undertaken by passengers on the Brussels public transport MIVB in 2013, six million more than in 2012, most of them by metro

current affairs

Flanders today

January 29, 2014

US president Barack Obama will make an official visit to Belgium on 26 March, the State Department has confirmed. Obama arrives in The Hague on 24 March to attend a summit of international leaders on nuclear safety. After meetings on 26 March with European leaders and the secretary-general of NATO, he goes on to the Vatican and an audience with the Pope.

the man who is accused of killing MIVB inspector Iliaz Tahiraj in 2012. Tahiraj arrived at the scene of a collision between a bus and a car in which the accused, Alexandre Vanderelst, was a passenger. During an argument, Vanderelst struck Tahiraj, knocking him to the ground, where he sustained a fatal head injury.

The defence says that Vanderelst had no intention to kill.

the composer of more than 170 works.

Musical personality of the year went to Chris Maene, boss at Piano’s Maene, whose team last year constructed a replica of the Beethoven-Broadwood piano, later becoming the official supplier of pianos to the royal family.

The career prize went to André Laporte, a composer, organist and pianist who teaches at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels.

Low-cost airline Ryanair will begin operating out of Brussels Airport on 27 February, the company confirmed last week. CEO Michael O’Leary said he planned for the company to become the biggest airline in Belgium, with 1.5 million passengers out of Brussels and five million out of Charleroi. Ryanair still faces a complaint of unfair competition because its pilots and other staff are registered for social security in Ireland, although living in Belgium.

Jan Hoet, one of Flanders’ leading art curators and founder of Ghent’s SMAK museum, has been hospitalised following a reported heart attack. In 2012, Hoet was taken ill in Hamburg and maintained in a coma for a time before making a full recovery. The latest incident took place while Hoet was on his way to a regular dialysis session.

The Pope dismissed eight Belgian priests last year after they were found to have committed sexual abuse, the spokesperson of the national bishops’ conference has confirmed. The men were not named and included seven parish priests and one monk. All were stripped of their status as priests and no longer have any function within the church. Not included on the list was Roger Vangheluwe, former bishop of Bruges, who admitted sexually abusing a nephew. Vangheluwe was removed from his post by Pope Benedict but continues to hold the office of priest.

Media minister Ingrid Lieten said she is “concerned” about possible closer links between cable provider Telenet and media company De Vijver, which owns the broadcasters Vier and Vijf. Any joint venture, she said, would be an unwelcome concentration of power. The two channels are in difficulties, but no concrete plans for working with Telenet have been announced.

Zulte-Waregem midfielder Thorgan Hazard has won this year’s Golden Shoe trophy for the best footballer in Belgian competition. Hazard was a favourite for the award and came in just ahead of Maxime Lestienne of Club Brugge. Hazard received the trophy from EU president Herman Van Rompuy. Silvio Proto of Anderlecht was named goalkeeper of the year, and goalie Thibault Courtois of Atletico Madrid was named best Belgian playing abroad, ahead of Red Devils captain Vincent Kompany.

The Brussels prosecutor has called for a four-year prison sentence for

According to the Flemish education ministry, 21 of the new streams launched in secondary schools last autumn count only a single student.

Secondary schools launched 151 new streams of study, which the Flemish government approved if the stream provided, for example, training for a bottleneck profession. MP Jos De Meyer said that the government and the Flemish employment agency VDAB should continue to inform parents and teachers about the availability of these streams to improve their reputation. “This worked for nursing studies, for example,” he said.

Surgeons from Antwerp University Hospital last week carried out an emergency operation to save the life of Likalé, a 120-kilogram gorilla at Burgers’ Zoo in Arnhem, the Netherlands. Likalé was suffering from a rectal prolapse. The Antwerp team volunteered to assist vets at the zoo because they have experience carrying out the procedure on humans. “The anatomy of primates is not different from that of humans,” team leader Guy Hubens said.

Eleven football clubs, including ZulteWaregem, Oostende and Mechelen, have filed applications with Flemish sports minister Philippe Muyters for a share in the budget of €8 million for renovations or new construction of football stadiums. Applications will be considered by a committee due to report to Muyters next month.

Hasselt University has established a chair to monitor the problems of highly gifted children in school and adults in the workplace. Research shows that gifted children often have different learning strategies, resulting in a learning deficit, while gifted staff often don’t feel challenged at their jobs. Researchers from a variety of scientific disciplines will study exactly where the gaps lie in the development of schoolchildren and the satisfaction of working adults.

Filip Rathé, artistic director of contemporary music ensemble Spectra, has won the Klara award for musician of the year. Rathé is

OFFSIDE

Helmut Lotti Usually when a celebrity does something socially-minded, they’re accused of doing it only to get attention. Sometimes, though, that’s exactly the point.

Helmut Lotti spent two days last week sleeping rough in Brussels.

The purpose: a segment on the VRT programme Ook getest op mensen (Tested on People) on homelessness and the effect of social exclusion on one’s psychological state.

Lotti – born Helmut Barthold Johannes Alma Lotigiers – gained his love of music, he has said, hearing Elvis Presley played on his grandmother’s gramophone.

The very same year, aged five, he appeared on stage. His grandfather was director of the opera in Ghent and roped young Helmut in to play a walk-on role.

In 1989 he performed on Dutch TV’s Soundmixshow, a talent contest also hugely popular in Flanders. The 20-year-old Lotti performed a number by Elvis (naturally) and was signed by a record company on the spot. He went on to be one of the most successful of a very Flemish kind

of singer: crooners who sing of love and loss, who are sometimes ridiculed by the mainstream media but consistently sell out cultural centres and concert halls up and down Flanders.

But Lotti had other ambitions, including a shrewd move towards the classical, with the live album Helmut Lotti Goes Classical becoming the biggest-selling ever by a Belgian artist. Five more classical albums followed, before he turned to world music, an Elvis tribute, a double swing album and, in 2013, an album of original Dutch-language songs.

Last week in the chilly corridors of Brussels Central station, the 44-year-old was far from all that.

No wallet and no mobile phone.

Old clothes and a borrowed sleeping bag. No friends and certainly no fans. “I know I’m only playing a role,” he comments during the segment. “But I’m almost beginning to feel ashamed when people look at me. I never realised that the world is so closed off to these people. There’s simply no place to go.” `` www.tinyurl.com/homelesslotti.

Alan Hope

flanders today © Wikimedia Commons

What’s in a name?

If you are a teacher of children, get ready for the next generation of Daemons, Deltas and King Davids.

Those are among the bizarre names given to children in Flanders in 2013, according to the Dutch expert Maarten van der Meer.

The phenomenon is international, as you’d know if you saw video of an interview with an American woman called Airwrecka last week. Say it loud, as lyricist Stephen Sondheim might have said, and it sounds like Erica. If only the same near-sense were at play in Flemish names like these: Boys Aaron Gracious, Deedee, Loezer, Abraham Lincoln, Rivaldo Christ, Gotwill, Torrex O’West, Phinneas Rex, Ma’Té Da’Vid, King David Osasere Girls Dageraad, Sourire d’Ange, Pippa Bluebell, Daemon, Delta

Alan Hope © VRT

face of flanders

WEEK in brief

Amaryllis, Emalia Myosotis, Godiswithme, Maria Italia, Overcomer Christian, Mafifi To be fair, some of those – Sourire d’Ange or Pippa Bluebell – are rather pretty. Some may be religious, so best not to mock too hard. And

Phinneas Rex is unusually noble, unlike other entries further down the list, like Xy, Stig, Twinity and Makarona.

Among the normal names handed out in Flanders last year, there are no mysteries. Mark or Marc, the second evangelist, is the most popular boy name by a short head.

Maria, mother of god and the girl Sondheim was writing about, is the most popular girl name by a country mile, with 120,289, ahead of second place Marie on 49,070. Rita is a distant third on 31,480.

When it comes to naming children, Flanders is resolutely both conservative and religious. Second and third place for boys are Jan and Luc, Johan comes in at seven and Jean at eight. The girls have Ann and Anna as well as Godelieve and Christiane in their top 10.

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Editor Lisa Bradshaw DEPUTY Editor Sally Tipper News Editor Alan Hope sub Editor Linda A Thompson SOCIAL EDITOR Robyn Boyle Agenda Robyn Boyle, Georgio Valentino Art director Paul Van Dooren Prepress Corelio AdPro Contributors Daan Bauwens, Rebecca Benoot, Derek Blyth, Leo Cendrowicz, Sabine Clappaert, Katy Desmond, Andy Furniere, Diana Goodwin, Toon Lambrechts, Katrien Lindemans, Marc Maes, Ian Mundell, Anja Otte, Tom Peeters, Senne Starckx, Georgio Valentino, Christophe Verbiest, Denzil Walton General manager Hans De Loore Publisher Corelio Publishing NV

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politics 5th column Yes, minister Parties want to present their strongest candidates to the electorate. Ministers, therefore, are almost always at the top of the election lists.

This is not the case for the Flemish minister for finance and budget, Philippe Muyters.

In Antwerp, where he is from, Liesbeth Homans will be the first candidate on the N-VA list for the Flemish Parliament, while party president Bart De Wever is set to be top of the federal list.

Muyters became a minister in 2009, rather unexpectedly.

He was CEO of the employers’ organisation Voka, and the party recruited him, thinking he was a tough managerial type. He turned out to be anything but. The minister is soft-spoken and emotional at times. In fact, the hardened type N-VA was hoping for was already in its midst: Homans, president of the Antwerp social agency and De Wever’s sidekick.

The upcoming elections are a first for Muyters, who was appointed without ever having stood for elections. That is not unusual. In fact, Muyters’ colleague in the government of Flanders, vice ministerpresident Ingrid Lieten, was not elected either. Lieten was CEO of public transport company De Lijn and often dubbed “Flanders’ most powerful woman”, when SP.A asked her to become a minister.

The practice of recruiting ministers from the outside often leads to resentment in party ranks, where other hopefuls see their ambitions thwarted. The new ministers do not always live up to their parties’ expectations either, but now and then they do.

Take Koen Geens (CD&V), who replaced Steven Vanackere as the minister for finance in the federal government. Although as an aide to ministerpresident Kris Peeters he was politically experienced, his appointment still raised some eyebrows, as he sounded more like a professor than like a minister. “You do not speak like a politician yet,” one TV journalist even told him on air.

Some months later, though, Geens has more than mastered said vernacular skills.

The most successful outside recruit, however, is Peeters (CD&V) himself. It may seem as if he has always been a politician, but until 2004 Peeters was the head of the small businesses organisation Unizo. He, too, became a minister without ever having stood for election. He successfully transformed into a politician, becoming ministerpresident and leader of his party. And – unlike Muyters – he will be his party’s top candidate on 25 May.

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Flanders today

January 29, 2014

Record number nature reserves Flanders increased its protected areas by 1,200 hectares last year Derek Blyth

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landers gained 1,200 hectares of listed nature reserve last year, according to environment minister Joke Schauvliege. The newly listed natural areas represent the largest annual increase ever recorded in Flanders, she said, bringing the total area to 16,318 hectares.

Some of the natural areas have been added to the list for the first time, while other areas are simply extensions to existing reserves. The largest new area is the 130-hectare Lovenhoek nature reserve (pictured), which straddles the municipalities of Vorselaar and Zandhoven in the Kempen region of Antwerp province. This has been listed by the government because of its “rich biodiversity”, which supports more than 1,500 rare species.

The list also includes the ancient Flemish wetlands known as Opstalvallei in Stabroek where 200 different birds can be seen, as well

as the Abeek Valley on the Kempen uplands, which is described in the government report as “a hotspot for insects and spiders”.

The new list includes the Blankaart wetlands near Diksmuide, which provide an ideal habitat for migrating birds. The town walls of Damme, near Bruges, have also been put on the list because the reeds that grow in the shallow moat provide an excellent natural habitat for several species of rare birds.

The Flemish nature reserves are eligible for special grants because of their ecological importance. The funding goes to ensure that they are protected and wherever possible open to the public.

“Nature reserves form the backbone of our natural heritage,” Schauvliege said. “That is why I have made it a priority in 2013 and 2014 to catch up on the backlog.”

The minister said that she hopes to list a further 1,500 hectares in 2014.

Brussels taxi-share scheme carries record number of passengers The Brussels taxi-share scheme Collecto carried a record number of passengers in 2013, according to the region’s transport minister Brigitte Grouwels. The night taxis were used by 142,000 people in 2013, compared to 116,000 in 2012, an increase of 21%.

The Collecto project was set up in 2008 to provide affordable taxi service after the public transport network has shut down for the night.

Taxi drivers pick up passengers at more than 200 designated bus stops across the city between 23.00 and 6.00, charging a modest flat fare – €6 per person, or €5 for those with a public transport pass.

Six out of 10 approval rating for Bart De Wever Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever, who is also president of the Flemish nationalist party N-VA, achieved a score of 6.06 out of 10 among Antwerp voters in a poll conducted by iVox for Het Nieuwsblad.

De Wever’s score matches that reached shortly after October 2012, when he took over the job, and it remains significantly higher than the score reached by his predecessor, Patrick Janssens, before that year’s election.

“My score is not at all bad, and we’ve only just begun,” said De Wever. “A city like Antwerp is like a tanker; you can only change direction slowly. But we’ve managed to set a new course.” AH

The taxis averaged three passengers per trip last year. About 60% of rides took place between 1.00 and 3.30, and 40% took place on Friday and Saturday nights.

Grouwels revamped the scheme in 2010 to cut the fare from €8 to €6, while improving the service – a policy she describes as “doing more with less.” The changes appear to have paid off in terms of passenger numbers. “The number of people using Collecto every month is now more than 20 times higher than before the restructuring,” she said.

Grouwels also announced positive figures for the Noctis night bus

network, which carried 6% more passengers in 2013 compared to the previous year. The average number of people using the service now ranges from 2,600 to 4,000 every month, with a peak in October.

The Noctis service was also radically reorganised in 2010 so that it now covers the entire city more effectively, although it only operates on Fridays and Saturdays and closes down at about 2.30. “Thanks to the restructuring, our capital now has a better night public transport network at a lower price for both the passenger and the taxpayer,” Grouwels said. DB

Flanders’ affordable holiday scheme huge success Some 515 tourism organisations, such as hotels, youth hostels and museums, signed up in 2013 to provide 111,341 low-income residents with affordable holidays, Flemish tourism minister Geert Bourgeois announced last week.

The discount holidays are organised

by Steunpunt Vakantieparticipatie, or the Holiday Participation Support Centre, a department of the tourism ministry. It negotiates with enterprises in the tourism sector to get discount rates for those who

otherwise can’t afford holidays.

The unique scheme was launched in 2001, when 752 people took advantage of a limited offer of a low-cost holiday at a summer camp.

It now offers a choice of 563 holiday packages within Flanders and Brussels and has won international awards.

The most recent poverty figures show that one in seven Flemish residents is unable to afford a week’s holiday. “A vacation is a universal right and not a luxury,” said

Bourgeois. “So it is encouraging that there is an ever-growing network of places that offer people living on low incomes the positive benefits of a day trip or vacation.”

The government points to studies showing that a holiday break is important for health and mental well-being. The most popular trips are to the sea, which accounts for two-thirds of holidays taken under the scheme. DB `` www.vakantieparticipatie.be

Crevits calls for lower drink-driving limit Flanders’ mobility minister Hilde Crevits wants to begin talks on lowering the drink-driving limit in Belgium from 0.5 mg to 0.2mg alcohol per 1,000 millilitres.

“Alcohol plays a role in one in three accidents,” said a spokesperson for the minister. “Too many people refuse to respect the current limit, so we have to do something about that.”

The alcohol limit in Belgium is the same as in the majority of European countries, including France, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. It is generally accepted

that this represents two glasses of wine or beer. The lower limit of 0.2 is enforced in Sweden and Norway, while the UK and Luxembourg allow a higher limit of 0.8 mg.

The proposed lower limit is part of the new Flanders Mobility Plan currently being discussed. The Belgian Institute for Road Safety says that a lower alcohol limit would have a significant impact on road accidents.

The decision to change the limit requires the agreement of the federal mobility minister, Melchior Wathelet, who is not in favour of a lower limit, a spokesperson said. “The recent implementation of higher fines combined with drink-driving campaigns is more effective,” he said. DB

cover story

Flanders today

January 29, 2014

Living for the moment Sam Louwyck is appearing in – at the last count – five movies this year

I never thought: Now I have to calm down. I wasn’t looking for a safety net says, “you all go home afterwards”.

The band, on tour until the end of March, were a three-piece looking for a frontman who could give their intense sound a face – who was a “performer” rather than a “singer”.

Louwyck took on the challenge. “We made one agreement,” he says. “I only had to add lyrics to the music when I felt it was necessary.”

That’s why there are a few instrumental tracks on the album.

“Sure, it’s nice to suck up all the attention at the centre of the stage, but I also enjoy listening to the fantastic sound of the band.”

Louwyck’s vocals were considered an extra instrument, giving a voice to Falling Man’s outer-space

Sam Louwyck (second from left) fronts the Ghent band Falling Man

character. The band name refers to the performance artist who made a name for himself by falling down on the streets of New York. “Right from the start, I was aware I could add something to the concept,” Louwyck says. On stage surrounded by brilliantly orchestrated noise, he’s trying to capture the energy of the moment, in a neat suit, with a claypainted face, without compromises.

Last spring, Louwyck made the difficult decision to quit dancing after a 30-year career. He had received the film offer from Italy after having promised to be in a dance performance. “I couldn’t combine both, and finally I had to disappoint my dance colleagues. I was a survivor in the scene: There are not so many men my age still dancing. The bones, you know. Wim Vandekeybus is an exception. I wanted to avoid having to disappoint more people in the future and so chose to focus on film and music.”

Being offered more exciting roles helped him cope with the loss, as did the fact he was no longer being cast as the criminal archetype.

“Tomorrow I will be discussing an offer of a French film about traumatised soldiers coming back after six months in Afghanistan,” he says. “And recently they even asked me to play Van Gogh for a special project. I still have to read the script, but you get the picture: The roles are getting more diverse.”

There’s also an offer of a BBC series at stake, but one of the biggest future challenges will be a script based on the true story of illegal immigrants seeking shelter in the Brussels Begijnhof Church. “One of the roles is played by an actor who was also in the Iranian Oscar-winner A Separation. I will be the priest.”

It’s not just Louwyck’s Italian adventure that will hit the cinemas this year. Very soon the thriller L’étrange couleur des larmes de ton corps (The Strange Colour Of

Your Body’s Tears), directed by the French couple Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, and Let Me Survive, an international production by the Mexican Eduardo Rossoff, are expected in cinemas.

Then later this year, there’s Terre battue, another French movie by the promising director Stéphane Demoustier, and Sauvez Wendy, a French-Belgian comedy. Louwyck willingly shows us some funny photos of the shoot on his phone.

“All of a sudden I’m in demand!” he

says. “I guess it’s because I could build up slowly, thanks to my past as a dancer.”

We know it’s also because he has the face, the character and the hair to do it – willing to take the risks that others might avoid.

“I was also willing to make the sacrifices,” he says. “I never thought: Now I have to calm down. I wasn’t looking for a safety net. In my 20s, I could have taken over a successful luxury hotel in Bruges, enabling me to quit working 10 years later. But I

© Laurent Thurin-Nal

The answer from Louwyck, who had to learn Italian for When You Were Born, is more detailed: “Clearness,” he says. “I have a tendency to mumble. But studying Italian, I had to do a lot of pronunciation exercises. I guess I took that attitude into the studio.”

It was Italian director Alice Rohrwacher, who had seen Louwyck in a movie he made in Berlin, who wanted him in her cast. “She really had to convince the producers to give me the role,” Louwyck says.

“You know, no one was waiting for this Belgian guy, who couldn’t even speak Italian and speaks German like a Fleming. I have to admit it was indeed a bit weird to get me on board a German-Italian-Swiss coproduction, but I like weird things. And they thought I wasn’t capable of doing this leading role with 22,000 words.”

But never provoke an actor’s pride: Louwyck started studying to prove the doubters wrong. “For me, it’s important to really learn the language of your character and not only the text, because otherwise you can feel a distance between what you play and what you say.”

So Louwyck was ready to play the alpha male in the script. With four on-screen daughters and lots of women around him in the film and the crew, it was a rather nice distraction, he says, from the all-male environment of Fallen Man. Fronting a band, performing on small stages where you can literally smell the audience, was a sensation he had never experienced before.

“The direct feedback in tiny venues is inspiring, as is the long-term collaboration with the other band members,” he says. With a film, he

© Jules Gahide

`` continued from page 1

Louwyck in the French-Belgian films Let Me Survive (top) and Sauvez Wendy

30 January, 19.00

Falling Man Magasin 4

Havenlaan 51B, Brussels

More dates throughout February and March www.fallingman.be

wanted to jump into the deep end.

I always choose for the moment.

That’s probably the reason why I joined a noisy rock band at this age.”

“He’s restless and the perfect example of ‘the playing man’,” says De Potter. “And he can keep on playing all his life because he’s so talented and passionate.”

And then Louwyck starts talking about this project that’s been buzzing around in his head for 25 years now. He has never been able to realise it, but the whole concept is written down. “It’s an interdisciplinary rock spectacle, taking place in three parts, each with its own story,” he says, vaguely.

“I can’t give away too much because it’s a really good concept… and never say never. But I need a strong, specific voice.”

In the early 1990s, Louwyck met the gifted singer Jeff Buckley, who was willing to be that voice. “I met him in New York while working at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

I was in this bar in the Lower East Side and asked if someone wanted to play pool. Jeff stood up, we made friends…” But Buckley drowned in the Mississippi in 1997.

Louwyck is also a big fan of the voice of New York performance artist Diamanda Galás, but he feels she doesn’t have the dynamic anymore.

Patti Smith likewise, even though he has a very nice memory of dancing with the godmother of punk at a festival in Geneva.

Only once did he think he had found a new candidate. “I met Amy Winehouse backstage at the Werchter festival, and we started talking about the evolution of her voice. I will never forget her sphinx eyes and the look she gave me, flabbergasted by my compliment to her partner, who sat next to her: ‘It must be hard to be with such an extremely talented person.’ Sadly, we all know what happened to her.”

5

business

The world’s largest beer group, headquartered in Leuven, is paying €4.3 billion to re-acquire the Korean Oriental Brewery group.

It was forced to sell the concern at €1.3 billion to the KKR investment fund only four years ago to finance its €38 billion acquisition of Anheuser Busch.

CarsFord As the closure of the car manufacturer’s assembling unit in Genk is slated for the end of this year, Ford has announced plans to invest several million euros this year in the development of its Lommel test facility.

ConstructionNato Contractors have asked for an additional €245 million to cover costs for the new Nato headquarters in Brussels, including extra security equipment. The facility is expected to open up to nine months late due in part to adverse weather conditions during the 2012-2013 winter.

Energy Electrawinds The ailing Ostend-based alternative energy producer has agreed to sell its Biostoom subsidiary, a biomass-fired power station, for €37 million to Limburg’s Bionerga waste management company. The move entails an immediate deposit of €3.7 million to cover the January salaries of Electrawinds personnel.

MediaTelenet The Mechelen-based telecommunications and cable company has offered €800 million over 12 years to secure the broadcasting rights of Belgium’s first division football competition.

The offer is well above expectations as Telenet hopes to recoup some of the amount by re-selling parts of its programmes to other broadcasters.

ProduceUniveg The fruit and vegetables distributor, based in SintKatelijne-Waver, Antwerp province, and with 4,500 employees in 23 countries worldwide has acquired the British Empire World Trade fruit importer and distributor.

TourismKnokke The Flemish seaside resort is considering organising a helicopter shuttle to London to cater to wealthy residents of Britain’s capital. Knokke tourism authorities claim that it is the closest up-market beach resort to London with international events, art galleries and a golf course.

6

Dexia pay increase under fire Finance minister requests review of salary bumps at the bailed-out bank Derek Blyth

F

ederal finance minister Koen Geens has called on the board of directors of Dexia bank to review a reported 30% salary increase awarded to three of its executives. The increases put the trio on annual salaries of €450,000.

The troubled bank was taken over by the French and Belgian governments after receiving a massive €5.5 billion bailout in 2012. The board was criticised at the time for awarding CEO Karel De Boeck an annual salary of €600,000, which exceeded French government limits.

Geens has met with De Boeck (pictured) and French finance minister Pierre Moscovici to discuss the pay awards, he said in a statement.

“This exercise should take into account the public’s justified sensitivity in terms of ethics, new Belgian rules on pay awards to executives employed by banks that receive state aid and the need for talented executives to minimise losses for taxpayers,” he said.

Dexia came close to collapse in 2011, leading to fears that it could bring down the eurozone.

De Boeck said that the salary increase will be done “creatively” through a number of benefits and that the gross earnings does not reflect the actual net salaries. “We have not given them a 30% salary increase,” he told De Standaard. “We’re not crazy.”

© Yves Herman/Reuters/Corbis

BrewingAB Inbev

January 29, 2014

De Lijn boss suggests cuts to free travel and rural services De Lijn CEO Roger Kesteloot has called for a review of the availability of public transport in sparsely populated areas, while increasing investment in urban areas. He also called into question free travel for seniors, suggesting instead a set of “social tariffs” for anyone on a low income.

The government’s decree on mobility states that no-one should have to travel more than 750 metres to reach a bus or tram stop, which costs De Lijn €121.5 million a year, Kesteloot said, adding that it is no longer affordable to stick to that decree.

De Lijn has to be “more creative” in finding ways to offer basic services to everyone, he said, suggesting more belbus services – where a bus only shows up at a stop when a passenger orders it in advance. He also suggested sponsored taxis as possible substitutes for a regular bus route that often find the bus empty.

The job of De Lijn, according to

© Courtesy De Lijn

week in business

Flanders today

Flemish mobility minister Hilde Crevits, “is to transport people. …

The service has already been cut in recent years”. She also stressed that no government before this one has spent more on new tram routes and major bus and tram construction orders. “It is important to keep on investing in all forms of mobility,

including road projects as well as new public transport infrastructure,” she said.

The government of Flanders took the opportunity to announce its plan to finance shuttle buses to carry workers to remote workplaces. The shuttles could be operated by public or private interests, to be financed

with a public budget currently standing at €3.1 million.

Initially, investment would go to help establish nascent projects in the ports of Ghent and Zeebrugge and the left bank area of Linkeroever in Antwerp. The only condition for new projects is that the area is not already covered by De Lijn, Crevits said.

Johan Truyens of Okra, the organisation that represents seniors, meanwhile, told Radio 1 that he feared another series of cuts such as those that followed a review in 2012. “A lot of lines were suspended, especially in rural areas,” he said.

“We received a lot of complaints from pensioners.”

According to the public works section of the Christian trade union ACV, there is no need to choose between the right to basic mobility and investment in urban networks.

The imperative now is to ensure public transport is as fast and efficient as possible. Alan Hope

Two die in industrial accident at Umicore in Olen

Houses in Belgium least affordable in Europe

Two men were killed last week when an explosion occurred during welding work at the metals processing plant of Umicore at Olen in Antwerp province.

Umicore employs about 1,000 people at the plant, which produces a number of products based on nickel and cobalt.

The company is one of the country’s leading manufacturers.

The accident is being investigated by the prosecutor’s office in Antwerp.

Umicore declined to speculate on the cause but expressed surprise that such an accident could take place given the security procedures at the plant.

The two workers, Bob Van De Weyer,

Nowhere in the eurozone are houses more expensive than in Belgium, taking account of the relationship between house prices and salaries, according to a new report Standard & Poor’s (S&P). Hopeful homeowners have no changes in the market to look forward to in the near future, the report says. S&P forecasts growth of 1.5% this year and next year.

Part of the reason for continued high prices in Belgium, unlike other parts of Europe, which have experienced a drop in

27, and Marc Blockx, 54, were making repairs to a six-metre tank containing a residue of hydrochloric acid. The accident is the first at the plant in more than 13 months – an impressive record for the type and size of works concerned. AH

prices, is low interest rates together with a lack of surplus in the market. In some parts of the country, most notably the Brussels-Capital Region, there is a shortage of available houses.

The number of transactions decreased last year, despite a sudden upturn in the third quarter; S&P estimates that trend could continue as firsttime buyers find themselves unable to pay rising prices, which would put the brakes on sales throughout the market. AH

Bpost unions threaten to strike Unions representing staff at Bpost have issued a warning of industrial action in a climate of “uncertainty” surrounding the departure of CEO Johnny Thijs. Thijs announced earlier this month that he will not be seeking to renew his mandate as head of the semi-privatised post office, following what he called a “breach of confidence” over his future salary.

According to the unions, until the

name of Thijs’ successor is known and has made a clear vision statement for Bpost policy, it is not possible for them to sit down at the negotiating table to tackle the subject of the company’s future direction.

“It is not the intention to leave the whole country without mail,” said union representative Jef De Doncker.

The warning issued by unions is a legal requirement to take any industrial action that might follow

from management’s decision to go ahead with reorganisation without the unions’ agreement, he explained.

Answering questions in the federal parliament this week, Federal minister for state enterprises, JeanPascal Labille, denied reports that a successor has been chosen and said the executive search company running the procedure, Russell Reynolds, had compiled a long list of candidates. AH

innovation

Flanders today

January 29, 2014

Keeping it special

week in innovation €5m to help cut food waste

Flemish animation producer invests in technology and people

Flemish innovation minister Ingrid Lieten is allocating €5 million in extra support to Flanders’ Food, earmarked to help reduce food waste.

Lieten, also the minister for the fight against poverty, is also funding a project spearheaded by non-profit food bank Kommaraf to re-use food surpluses.

Flanders’ Food, the food industry’s innovation platform, can now set up more collaborations between companies and scientists and organise training and networking events. The purpose is to tackle new social needs and challenges, like the reduction of food waste. Last year, Lieten launched a call for projects for creative ways to deal with food surpluses.

The winner, Kommaraf from Aarschot, Flemish Brabant, received €5,000 for a project in which it works with guidance and training centre Arktos to train youngsters from lowerincome families to collect and process surplus food.

Andy Furniere

S

o used have we become to seeing breath-taking visual effects in animated movies and games that special effects have become less, well … special.

But the Ghent-based special effects production house Grid VFX is determined to keep pushing the boundaries of visual animation to nudge viewers back to the edge of their seats. And that ambition appears to be paying off.

Grid VFX was recently named European Animation Producer of the Year at the industry event Cartoon Forum and helped create the prestigious PlayStation 4 game Knack.

Since it was founded in 1995, Grid VFX (VFX is an industry acronym for “visual effects”) has been providing post-production services, like 3D visualisation, character animation, colour grading, editing and set supervision, to advertising and film production companies. In its early days, refining music videos was one of the company’s specialities.

It was the animated film The Triplets of Belleville, nominated for two Academy Awards in 2003, that offered Grid VFX its breakthrough in the animation sector. More recently, it has begun acting as a co-producer for international animation films.

Grid VFX also opened an office in Brussels in 2011 to better promote its activities around the world.

Grid VFX is currently co-producing the adaptation of the comic book Astérix: The Mansions of the Gods, which will be distributed in several countries. Its portfolio of international feature film projects also includes the American movies Ghost Rider and Pathology.

Mark Mertens, who founded the company with Jan Goossen, shows me around the Grid headquarters in the Ghent district of Gentbrugge.

Our first stop on the tour of the large building, which used to house dressing rooms for factory workers, is a room largely taken up by 200 “rendering machines”, with non-stop flickering lights. This advanced computer technology, which can process the most complex calculations, transforms the developed scenes into the final animation movies.

We then head to a small cinema, where an expert is tinkering with the visuals of the new Flemish children’s film Dierenhotel (Animal Hotel). The film follows the adventures of the pop group K3 and is being produced by Flemish production house Studio 100. The Grid specialist shows me how the viewers’ vision can be manipulated to focus on a certain spot by, for example, playing with the intensity of the colours.

In other rooms, Grid teams are working on various productions such as the prestigious, prime-time TV series In Vlaamse velden (In Flanders Fields), which debuted on Eén earlier this month. The Flemish cinema hit Kampioen zijn blijft

Dravet syndrome gene found

A Grid animation series for the BBC, What’s The Big Idea?, was nominated for a Bafta award last year

plezant! (based on the former FC Kampioenen TV series) was also finished here, and the ambitious TV series Little Luke and Lucy, based on the popular Flemish comic albums about Suske and Wiske, is currently getting its finishing touches for an international market.

of an audience that is used to highly detailed images in Hollywood movies. We may not have the huge budgets of such productions, but we invest a lot in innovative technology and artistic creativity to keep up.”

These continued efforts appear to be impressing the industry. Last

Many of our staff move on to larger international players after fine-tuning their skills here “We always have about 50 people working here,” says Goossen (pictured below), “of whom about one-third have foreign origins.”

Many of the company’s Flemish staff completed the Bachelor’s degree in digital arts and entertainment at University College West Flanders.

“It takes new technicians about three years to master the necessary skills for a specific task, such as creating the lighting in an animated environment,” says Mark Mertens.

“You could say that students may have learned the language of computer animation, but they can’t yet write a book.”

With its own Grid Academy, the company also organises workshops to increase the know-how of its staff. “Many of our staff also move on to larger international players after having fine-tuned their skills here,” Mertens adds.

Some of the artists at Grid are extremely specialised.

One expert, for instance only works on animations of water. “This is absolutely necessary,” explains Goossen, “to fulfil the expectations

September, Grid VFX was named European Animation Producer of the Year at Cartoon Forum in Toulouse. One of the company’s animation projects, the BBC children’s TV series What’s The Big Idea?, was also nominated for a British BAFTA award last year.

“This international recognition is flattering,” says Goossen, “but it’s

up to us to use these awards as a calling card to expand our markets, while consolidating the quality of our work.” Having just acquired the option to create the feature film version of Canadian animator Michel Gagné’s graphic novel The Saga of Rex, Grid isn’t resting on its laurels.

The expertise of Grid has also attracted the attention of Sony, which asked the company to work on the visuals for PlayStation 4 game Knack. Grid VFX embellished the technical development and lighting of the 3D scenography and characters in the so-called “cut scenes”, which together last 90 minutes. These cut scenes are in-game movies that bridge the gap between the different levels of a game.

“The boundaries between movies and games are increasingly disappearing,” says Goossen.

“Just like we are now getting used to watching television via the internet.”

Another trend the Grid co-founder sees is the increasing global competition that is turning visual animation artists into modern nomads. Goossen points to Vancouver and London as the current centres of expertise.

“Hollywood is losing much of its attraction, as Canada and Great Britain’s tax shelters are helping them to win the competition for talent.”

Still, Goossen and Mertens feel that Flanders is holding its own, in part thanks to the tax shelter for the audio-visual sector. But the two say they agree with the recent calls from the sector to reform the tax shelter, since the current system allows room for abuse. ``www.grid-vfx.com

A European team that includes researchers from the life sciences research institute VIB, the University of Leuven and Antwerp University has found the genetic cause of Dravet syndrome, a form of epilepsy.

The discovery could lead to easier and cheaper diagnosis of the disorder, which causes seizures in very young children.

In three out of four patients, the disorder is triggered by a mutation in the SCN1A gene.

The researchers found that, in the remaining cases, the culprit is the CHD2 gene. The findings could form the basis of a new test to track down Dravet syndrome more quickly and less painfully in children.

Postpartum depression has long-term effects Four out of 10 new mothers with postpartum depression continue to feel depressed over the long term, according to the clinical psychology research group at the University of Leuven in a review study. About 13% of women feel depressed after giving birth, but the assumption is that the symptoms fade after about six months. “In practice, however, we notice that many mothers continue struggling,” said researcher Sara Casalin.

The team analysed 23 studies on the course of postpartum depression, published between 1985 and 2012. On average, 38% of the new mums suffered from depression for a year or longer. Young single mothers had a higher risk for lasting symptoms. AF

7

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education

Flanders today

January 29, 2014

Green light for school reform

week in education

Flemish government approves roadmap for reform of secondary education

UGent approves gender action plan

Andy Furniere © Brecht Van Maele / Imagedesk

A

fter approving a master plan for the reform of secondary education, the Flemish government has now given the green light to its concrete implementation. A roadmap specifies the timing of the different steps to upgrade the education system.

Education minister Pascal Smet has received criticism during his term, from the education and political sector. For example, Elisabeth Meuleman of Groen, who has expressed her ambition to succeed Smet after the elections in May, recently declared that Smet has caused “five years of standstill” in education policy.

One of the main points of criticism is that Smet could not issue a decree that reforms secondary education. After intense discussions in all areas of society, the reform will be carried out step by step over the next 12 years. Smet is also organising several meetings to inform unions, school directors and teachers.

In a press statement, the education ministry points out that it has finished several measures, some of which have already been implemented. Important changes have been carried out in the language policy, which will come into force at the start of the next school year. From September, for example, schools are obliged to screen the level of Dutch language knowledge of new pupils in primary and secondary education. The ministry is preparing a toolkit to help schools make this assessment.

For students who fail the test, primary schools need to set up “language baths” in Dutch, on an individual or collective basis. Such an intense, fulltime language programme can last up to a year. In secondary education, schools should provide extra language lessons of up to three hours a week.

Thanks to the Content and Language Integrated Learning project, secondary schools can offer up to a fifth of non-language courses in French, English or German. In this way, the education ministry hopes to prepare students better for the “multilingual future”.

Through the new digital platform Mijn Onderwijs (My Education), primary and secondary schools have access to figures on pupil and staff numbers, pupil characteristics and demographics. The next step is to include reports on certifications and the in- and out-flow of pupils in schools.

Finally, the STEM action already encourages the interest of youngsters in science, technology, engineering and maths through promotion campaigns and projects.

Before the elections at the end of May, the education ministry promises to finish the regulation that divides the general study domain

Education minister Pascal Smet at a discussion of education reforms in Ghent last November

of world orientation in primary education. World orientation will be split up among the more specific domains of “science and technics” and “humanity and society”.

Another concern is the regulation to deploy bijzondere leermeesters or remedial teachers for scientific, technical, French and music courses.

Remedial teachers help students with a deficit, learning problems or behavioural issues. The government is drawing up competence certificates for remedial teachers, in consultation with the education inspection department.

Essential in the master plan is the full reform of the eindtermen, the final requirements for students to be able to integrate in society, which will be defined as “competences” from next school year. Instead of focusing primarily on knowledge, the education ministry wants to pay just as much attention to pupils’’ skills and attitudes. This transition is currently being carried out and will be adjusted if necessary.

Concerning the structure of secondary education, the ministry is analysing how to transform the current first grade into a broader first grade, with basic options. In full swing is also the formation of the new matrix model in the second and third grade. Currently, the offer of about 300 study streams is screened on their relevance with the goal of reducing the number of streams drastically.

For this screening, the ministry takes into account the demands of the labour market and universities.

By the middle of 2016, this analysis should lead to a new matrix model with five interest domains.

After exploring their interests in the first grade, secondary students could then opt for science and technics, language and culture, welfare and society, art and creation or economy and organisation.

The master plan also has important consequences for staff. Among the measures that will be proposed this term is the new seniority rule for people who move from the private or government sector to a career in education – including financial incentives.

The policy groups that are examining how to improve teacher training programmes should be finished this spring. In any case, aspiring teachers will need to complete an intake test, but the results will not be binding.

With a decree on the legal position of students, certificates will need to be justified more extensively, also when the outcome is positive.

They will become means for deciding on the proper study choice, just like the personal student file currently in development. This student file will be added to during the whole school career so that all teachers of a certain student are informed and can offer more customised support. `` www.hervormingsecundair.be

Q&A Flor Vanroye is the chair of the Catholic primary education system of Sint-Truiden, which is putting pupils of multiple ages in one classroom What can pupils at the De Heiberg school expect?

We are literally breaking down the walls that separate the age categories in a regular primary school. All children in the primary school, which can house up to 36 pupils, will be taught in one large room. The children will still be divided but in small groups of about five and on the basis of their knowledge level and skills. This division is the responsibility of two teachers, who will not subject pupils to tests and exams but check their progress through regular evaluation. We have named our concept the Samenlerende School (Collaborative Learning School).

Will the children receive much homework?

No, because we feel this is an unfair system. Not all children have the same amount of time to work at home.

Does De Heiberg also have a nursery school?

Yes, for up to 24 toddlers. Children in the last year of nursery school will regularly join the pupils in the primary section, to lower the threshold between the two departments.

What is the philosophy behind your method?

The central idea is that children learn more easily through spontaneous communication among each other than through formal explanations by teachers or texts in books. The teachers at De Heiberg will act as coaches, helping one group at a time while also maintaining the general order. Traditional lesson materials,

like study books, will still be used, but to a lesser extent than normal. The teachers will apply many different creative approaches. Research indicates that our method should stimulate the pupils' autonomy.

How have parents reacted?

There was much demand for an alternative and innovative educational concept in our region, so many parents are glad about the initiative. However, some parents have also expressed concerns, like about the transition to secondary education. We can assure them – like we assured the Flemish government – that the children will achieve the required levels of knowledge and skills to progress to secondary school. interview by AF `` www.deheiberg.be

The board of directors at Ghent University (UGent) has approved a gender action plan, a measure required by innovation minister Ingrid Lieten and education minister Pascal Smet.

By 1 October, UGent plans to have a gender-balanced representation of staff on all administrative bodies and commissions. This obligation is already in place at the leadership level and UGent focuses strongly on a genderfriendly policy for research fellows. “Young researchers are often at an age when they want to have children, so we have installed specific measures to bridge this challenging period,” says rector Anne De Paepe.

The university, for example, provides daycare options and other family-friendly facilities.

Secondary education in Antwerp reformed Antwerp’s education network will thoroughly reform secondary education in the coming years. The 190 study streams are being evaluated and, if necessary, will be adjusted, strengthened or joined with other streams. They will be grouped according to five “interest domains”. The reform is meant to facilitate students’ study choices and reduce the outflow of students without a diploma. The city also wants to make it possible for students to follow an uninterrupted learning trajectory in one interest domain – even if a student moves from, for instance, general humanities to technical education. Each of the five interest domains will consist of general humanities, technical and professional education study streams.

Programme launched for disadvantaged toddlers The King Boudewijn Foundation has launched the programme Kleine kinderen, grote kansen (Small Children, Big Chances) to provide better nursery education to children from challenging backgrounds.

The programme is supported by the government of Flanders and is based on research by the University of Leuven and Ghent University, which showed that nursery teachers – often unconsciously – treat children differently according to their social background, involving them less directly in class activities. It is one of the factors that cause children from disadvantaged or immigrant backgrounds to achieve lower scores in languages and maths in the third year. The programme provides advice for teacher training.

9

living

Flanders today

January 29, 2014

Bruges Beer Festival This popular two-day festival has outgrown its previous location inside the Belfort and moved to the Beurshal, outside the historic centre.

Less picturesque, perhaps, but more room also means less jostling and less spilt beer. More than 350 beers from 76 brewers, including 29 premieres, plus culinary demonstrations, beer talks and more. 1 February, 12.0022.00, 2 February, 11.0021.00, free entry ``www.brugsbierfestival.be

Swing on Sunday Put on your dancing shoes and get over to the Mille in Mechelen for a Sunday afternoon Lindy Hop party with a live band. The Lindy Hop was a popular dance from the 1920s. Swing band The Cool Cats will play two sets at 14.30 and 16.00, with additional dance music provided by a DJ. 2 February, 13.00. Art Café Mille, Nauwstraat 10, Mechelen, €5 ``www.millemechelen.com

Chinese New Year The Chinese New Year begins on 31 January and the city of Antwerp will celebrate with a programme of cultural activities, including a tai chi workshop, kung fu demonstrations, a gospel concert and an educational film. The programme finishes with a dinner at City Palace restaurant.

2 February, 13.30-18.00, Cultureel Ontmoetingscentrum SintAndries, Sint-Andriesstraat 24, Antwerp, afternoon programme €5, dinner 18.00, €20, reservations required ``http://tinyurl.com/new-year-Antwerp

In addition, the MAS has organised a mini-exhibition about the history of Antwerp’s Chinatown in conjunction with the city’s Chinese organisations, using personal photos, family mementoes and stories from Antwerp’s Chinese immigrants. Until 13 April, daily except Monday, 10.00-17.00, in the Kijkdepot of the MAS, free ``www.mas.be

Flemish Karate Championships The biggest karate contest in Flanders takes place in Hasselt this year. There are two types of competition: The kata is a series of poses judged on speed, form, power and rhythm, and the kumite is a sparring match between two opponents. 2 February, Sporthal Alverberg, Herkenrodesingel 33, Hasselt, €7 ``www.fightingkarate.be

10

Farmstead in the city A Ghent bioengineer leads the charge for Flanders’ first urban farm Daan Bauwens

G

hent residents will soon be able to pick flowers, grow courgettes, feed chickens, collect eggs, get rid of their green waste and sip a beer in a garden café while their kids play in the children’s farm. If none of this sounds surprising, consider that it’s all going down on an industrial wasteland, right next to the city’s busiest roundabout, with a power station across the street.

Open to all residents, Ghent’s firstever city farm is scheduled to open in April, smack in the middle of the city centre.

It’s just one of many ideas that have sprung from the mind of local bioengineer Bert Ostyn. “People should learn to live in green surroundings again”, he says, “mostly because it makes them feel more at ease. Flanders is too grey and made out of brick. We have to make our cities greener, and they will turn out to be more liveable.”

With his initiative Kangroen (Can Green), Ostyn, 31, wants to show people how easy it is to create green surroundings, even in very small city surfaces. He cites the vertical gardening sessions Kangroen has organised. In these workshops, residents are taught how to build gardens against their courtyard walls by using discarded wooden pallets.

The bioengineer has also designed and built green furniture, like courtyard tables with built-in plants or patches of grass. “We try everything that can bring people closer to nature,” he says.

“Every little bit helps.”

Ostyn has also been toying with bigger, more ambitious plans. He hopes to realise a plukstraat (Picking Street), a neighbourhood where all the building facades have been converted into vertical herb gardens.

“Every inhabitant would grow herbs,

Bert Ostyn’s Christmas tree planting farm was a big success

and everyone is free to go pick the herbs they need from their neighbours’ garden,” he explains. “Our streets will be greener; people will be closer to nature, and people will get closer to each other as well.”

People will be closer to nature, and people will get closer to each other as well Grand plans aside, at this point, Kangroen is mostly a concept, a mission statement on a website. But Ostyn has already gotten a lesson in the power of social media. “Two months ago, we came up with the idea of adopting Christmas trees,” he says. “We gave people the chance to

not throw away or burn their trees, but to plant them on a small piece of unused land in the middle of the city.

They can come back and get them next Christmas. In the meantime, we take care of them.”

Ostyn’s event was created and shared on Facebook in late December. In about three weeks, some 70 Ghent locals signed up, until the event was full and registration had to be closed.

Earlier this month, dozens of families planted their Christmas trees, fitted with name tags so they can find them again next year.

The project was picked up by national media outlets. Residents responded enthusiastically to the news reports, and volunteers, youth groups, non-profits and even Ghent’s city council offered to help with Kangroen’s other projects.

And the biggest of those projects is the city farm. The plan is for the wasteland near the old docks site – in the middle of the city and just a few metres from the Christmas forest – to be transformed into an urban farm. The farm would include a flower picking

field, a herb picking field, a children’s farm, a mushroom garden, a courgette garden, a green-waste centre, a garden cafe and a chicken coop.

It sounds ambitious, but according to Ostyn, it isn’t just a wild idea.

“Together with volunteers, we have already planted 10,000 flower bulbs for the flower field,” he says, adding that the garden café should be open

by April.

The Ghent non-profit De Sleutel, which helps drug addicts get their lives back on track, has already agreed to take care of the chicken coop and the egg distribution. And Ostyn is still on the lookout for other organisations to participate in the project. “This is not just our project”, he says. “Every inhabitant and every organisation is free to sign up.”

Growing food on an industrial site next to busy streets and power stations might not seem like a very healthy idea, but, says Ostyn, that’s not entirely accurate. “It’s not possible to just grow anything in a city environment because of pollution,” he admits. But he points out that the soil is currently being studied and that Velt, the Flemish organisation that promotes ecological living and gardening, is putting together a first list of guidelines on what can be grown in a city environment without health risks. “Mind you,” he says, “not all vegetables automatically get contaminated.”

It’s this kind of ecological-pedagogic dimension that Ostyn hopes the city farm will also include. “People will come to the bar and join in activities and see for themselves which vegetables and herbs grow in which seasons,” he says. “But people will also get informed about which vegetables they can grow themselves.” `` www.kangroen.be

BITE

Alan Hope

Salon du Chocolat If you heard that the Salon du Chocolat to be held in Tour & Taxis next month was the first of its sort to be held here, your first question might be: “What took them so long”?

The Salon is organised by Event International, based in Paris, where they’ve been organising an international fair around chocolate and cocoa for 20 years. But when I challenged François Jeantet, one of the organisers, to explain this breath-taking act of bringing coals to Newcastle, he answered that the French had simply not previously dared to teach their Belgian neighbours any lessons on a subject.

Aside from that reticence, they also assumed – wrongly, as it happened, but who can blame them? – that the Belgians would organise something like this for themselves.

Belgium’s reputation in the world of chocolate is, of course, second to none. Brussels alone has 250 businesses working in the field, says Sylvie Douce, also from Event International. Belgium is the world’s second-biggest consumer of the “magic potion”, as she calls it, putting away 10 kilograms per person on average every year. And of course, Belgium invented the praline.

The Salon will feature more than 80 exhibitors, with an expected 15,000 visitors a day. One of

© Event International

week in activities

the big attractions will be the big fashion show, staged several times throughout the three days.

The dresses on the catwalk are made entirely from chocolate (pictured).

Every day also sees demonstrations by some big names in the business, among them starred chefs like Bart De Pooter of De Pastorale in Reet, Antwerp province, and Pascal De Valkeneer of Le Chalet de la Forêt in Brussels, as well as chocolate specialists like Dominique Persoone of The Chocolate Line and Jean-Philippe Darcis, based in Brussels and Singapore.

Aside from those attractions, there will be book signings, workshops for kids (and for adults) and an exhibition of works by the students of the Executive Master Food Design course at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Brussels.

7 - 9 February Tour & Taxis Havenlaan 86c, Brussels

http://brussels.salon-du-chocolat.com

living

Flanders today

January 29, 2014

A second life for apple trees An organisation in southern Limburg is working on a better use for discarded fruit trees Toon Lambrecht © Kristof Vrancken

F

or me, the area of Limburg known as Haspengouw is a place of childhood memories: endless rows of fruit trees, summer jobs as a picker in the orchards and, in recent years, crowds of tourists who come to admire the blossoms during spring.

The Haspengouw landscape is dominated by low-stemmed fruit trees. Such a tree does not have a long life span. After 10 or 15 years, the production decreases, and the trees are cut and replaced, with almost all that wood being burned.

Each year approximately 800,000 apple trees are uprooted in Haspengouw. Wood is scarce, so something more valuable than burning could be done with it, thought Bart Dooms. Along with Erik Meyelmans, he founded Haspenwood, a co-operative to develop new applications for all that apple wood.

“The idea has slowly grown,” explains Dooms. “My father-in-law is a fruit farmer, and I do woodwork as a hobby. Eventually I started experimenting with apple wood – how to dry it, how to saw it. Later, in a workshop given by Flanders DC, a think tank on creative economy in Flanders, we reflected for the first time on what use discarded apple trees could have.”

The concept of giving apple wood from Haspengouw a second life has been considered in a number of workshops, including Resource Lab, a collaboration of designers.

“That worked out very well,” says Dooms, “though it requires a different approach to design.

Instead of starting from a design and seeing what materials you need,

Some of Cultivating Communities Haspengouw’s ideas at the Conflict & Design exhibition at C-Mine in Genk

we thought in the reverse direction.

There is a material, what can you do with it? We started to look further than only the wood. For example, something could be done with the fruit that isn’t harvested instead of leaving it to rot.”

During the session in Resource Lab, Dooms met Ben Hagenaars. In the context of the course Social Spaces at the MAD media and design academy in Hasselt, he had worked on design gaming, a way to think about design in a participative and playful way.

The result of this workshop was labelled the Table of Haspengouw.

The Table brings together ideas of possible products that can be made from apple wood and other debris from apple cultivation: wine,

Haspengouw was founded. This research process brings together people from different backgrounds and focuses on the sustainable use

Larger farms are often happy to get rid of the wood; it’s not their core business for example, but also filters or packaging.

As a result of the collaboration, Cultivating Communities

of apple trees. But there is more than just potential products. Cultivating Communities does research on both sustainable production methods

and links to the social economy.

Dooms: “With Cultivating Communities Haspengouw, we are looking for local knowledge.

That’s also a valuable resource in the region. We talked with apple farmers, winemakers, nature organisations and people from the social economy about their ideas.”

And the fruit farmers? What do they think about the wild ideas coming out of Cultivating Communities Haspengouw?

“Small farmers usually sell their timber in their neighbourhood,” says Dooms.

“Larger farms are often happy to get rid of it; it’s not their core business.

It is mostly young farmers who think about what to do with that wood.”

This year, he says, is an important one for the project. “The intention is to put ideas into practice and to look at what works and what doesn’t.”

The project is participating in the exhibition Conflict & Design at C-Mine in Genk and, Dooms says, as soon as that’s over, “we’ll go on the road with it, so the people of Haspengouw can see what is possible. Also, we will bring barbecue chips on to the market.

Apple wood is very fragrant; it gives a special flavour to food.”

The wood to be used in new ideas and projects has already been cut.

“Last November, we uprooted a halfacre of apple trees and laid them to dry. I like the analogy with the initial idea itself. I find it interesting to see how it developed and how more and more people are picking it up. It’s just like wood. That also needs to rest for a while before it’s ready to use.” `` www.tinyurl.com/cchaspengouw

Henry van de Velde design awards honour established and new designers

E

arlier this week, for the 20th time, the Henry van de Velde award ceremony took place at the Flemish Parliament in Brussels.

Established and up-and-coming designers gathered with politicians and industry movers and shakers to witness the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement, Young Talent, Company and Audience awards, plus the Ovam Ecodesign award for both a Product on the Market and Product in Development.

Design comes in many disciplines, shapes and colours. The winners of the prestigious Henry van de Velde awards – named after the Flemish painter, designer and architect, who spanned the 19th and 20th centuries as fully as he did genres – all have very different backgrounds, too.

Luc Landuyt from Antwerp received the Lifetime Achievement award for his impressive list of projects. His name might not ring a bell, but he helped design the iconic BMW Z1.

He now works in France as a project leader for Renault’s luxury cars.

The judges also honoured Caro Van den hole from Aalst. They praised her conceptual and sustainable

approach to design and gave her the Young Talent award. She teaches at Luca School of Arts in Ghent and has her own design studio, Maison Caro.

Just like last year, the Company award was issued to designers of seating. Jongform of Genk was founded in 1984 and has always had an eye for quality, sustainability and affordability. The company also gives young designers the chance to develop their own sofas.

The audience were able to cast their vote as well. From the list of Henry van de Velde labels issued last year, they picked the Nomad lamp by Alain Gilles for O’Sun. The lamp was

originally designed as an emergency light for families in developing countries, but the safe alternative to kerosene lamps turned out to be popular on camping trips and in gardens, too.

These days, design and sustainability go hand in hand. In 2008, Flemish waste management company Ovam joined the Van de Velde awards with two of their own. O Mr President, a children’s work table designed by Bulo of Mechelen and made from quality wood remnants, received the Ovam prize for Product on the Market.

Daily Needs by Studio Segers of Maaseik, a range of outdoor

modular elements designed to encourage kitchen gardening and chicken rearing (pictured), was awarded the Ovam Ecodesign award for Product in Development.

The Henry van de Velde Labels, meanwhile, are awarded by Design Vlaanderen to new products as quality labels. All the products that received labels or awards are on view to the public at the Flemish Parliament’s exhibition space in Brussels until 8 March . Katrien Lindemans `` www.designvlaanderen.be

11

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arts

Flanders today

January 29, 2014

A giant leap Ghent author Christophe Vekeman has taken a new turn with the masterful, menacing Marie Rebecca Benoot

G

entenaar Christophe Vekeman has written his 10th book, a tour de force that gently glides along that illusive line between recognisable reality and fantastical fiction. Although Marie is the title of Vekeman’s latest brainchild, she only makes a cameo appearance. “Marie is actually the driving force, but she only appears in the first chapter,” he explains. “She is the loveliest girl in the entire world.”

Here the narrator tells us how he met Marie, 12 years ago, and how they fell madly in love. One day, fate cruelly intervenes, and Marie doesn’t wake up. Trapped by an all-consuming grief, the narrator decides to flee into a fictitious world and creates the second part of the novel, the tale of a tiny town called Abraham. It’s a place like no other: muggy, desolate and surrounded by expansive swamps, where even a postman seems an unattainable luxury.

Inhabited by a colourful cast of characters whose luck is about to run out – a sadistic mayor, his masturbating son and some extremely hairy and clairvoyant women – Abraham is the embodiment of the narrator’s pain and resentment towards life, a surreal world that helps him deal with his loss. Hence the Gothic, mad and slightly grotesque atmosphere that evokes the deep South of the US. It’s a far cry from Vekeman’s usual settings. Fans will feel they’re definitely not in Kansas anymore.

In the second part of the narrative, filled with frequently bloody twists and absurd yet relatable characters, fantasy clearly prevails, as it is a way of dealing with the pain of everyday life. “Consider it writing as a form

While I was writing Marie, I felt like Jerry Lee Lewis at his piano, filled with unbridled zeal of therapy,” Vekeman (pictured) says. It is, however, a giant leap from his previous, more naturalistic novel, Een uitzonderlijke vrouw (An Exceptional Woman), where psychology and realism reigned.

Combining several genres, narrators and an intermezzo or two, Marie is easily Vekeman’s most experimental novel. “Yet I don’t think of myself as an experimental writer,” he says.

“It wasn’t a conscious choice. It just happened. Who knows, my follow-up might be pure realism.”

But one aspect remains: Vekeman is a true believer in style over substance, just like his favourite authors, Gustave Flaubert, WF Hermans and Anton Chekhov. “The style and the way you tell a story are much more important to me than the actual story,” he says. “A book has to be written well and not just be merely entertaining. My starting point will always be language and style.”

His goal, he continues, “is that if someone picks a random sentence out of one of my books, they’ll immediately know it’s a Christophe Vekeman.”

In a time where fewer and fewer writers are busy creating the perfect sentence instead of the perfect plot, Vekeman has succeeded in doing both: combining flawless sentences and an epic canvas with a rollicking good time.

Marie started off as a novella that Vekeman was asked to write live at Flanders’ landmark book fair Boekenbeurs, but when this stunt was cancelled, an eager Vekeman – who had already given himself a head-start and written the first chapter – knew he was on the brink of something special. He finished the novel between literary tours, in which he so frequently takes centre stage these days.

The result is a vibrant, raw and yet eloquent novel, bursting with enthusiasm. “While I was writing Marie, I felt like Jerry Lee Lewis at his piano, filled with unbridled zeal.”

© Mieke de Ley

In Christophe Vekeman’s 10th book, a grief-stricken narrator flees to a grotesque Gothic fantasy world in hope of escaping his pain. He talks to Flanders Today about combining style and substance, reality and fiction.

Reviews Tot later (See You Later)

An Mertens • De Bezige Bij Brussels: fragmented by a multitude of voices, ideologies and nationalities, and the backdrop of artist An Mertens’ debut novel. Several characters, each dealing with their own issues and bound by their indignado, meet in a cafe on the Ninoofseplein, where they come up with a plan to stop a local developer who is buying up the area to build a large hi-tech home for the elderly. Showing us all corners of Brussels and people from all walks of life, Mertens’ urban tale has an intriguing angle, dosed with some left-wing ideology. Occasionally, though, the pieces have a hard time fitting together.

De vrouwenhater (The Woman Hater)

Louis van Dievel • Vrijdag In 2004, author and journalist Lous van Dievel published a book so horrifying and violent that it was soon forgotten due to the lack of publicity it was given. Clearly, Flanders wasn’t ready for its own version of American Psycho. Ten years on, Van Dievel’s publisher has decided to give this shocking novel a second chance, aided by a new, lesssubtle title – previously it was called De man die naast zijn schoenen liep (The Man Who Walked Beside His Shoes) – and two extra chapters.

Definitely not for the faint-hearted, this sometimes gratuitous yet well-written story about a powerhungry psychopath who preys on a vulnerable young woman will surely leave its mark.

Woesten Kris Van Steenberge • Vrijdag Former teacher Kris Van Steenberge’s debut is a real Flemish gem, a classic novel set in a small, rural village where the locals are touched by love, tragedy and ultimately war. At the end of the 19th century in a village called Woesten, the young Elisabeth is ready to spread her wings, until she discovers that she is pregnant. Forced to marry the father, she gives birth to twins: the beautiful Valentijn and his horribly disfigured brother, who remains nameless. The year 1914 approaches, but war isn’t the only tragedy that strikes the quiet town. Woesten is epic, elegant and sumptuous storytelling at its best.

Het West-Vlaams versierhandboek (The West Flemish Pick-up Artist’s Guide)

problems? Blondeau’s final novel is a joy to read.

Thomas Blondeau • De Bezige Bij Last October, Thomas Blondeau died suddenly of a heart aneurysm at age 35, just after the publication of this novel. A small Flemish town decides to declare its independence and sever its ties with the rest of Flanders to maintain its own identity. Raf Fauchery, a man down on his luck, returns home to try to find happiness in the only place that once made him smile. Although he is anything but a Casanova, he sets out on a new project: to write a guide to seducing women. But is the solitude he craved really the answer to his

13

arts

Flanders today

January 29, 2014

Devil in the details

Flemish screenwriter Carl Joos brings British crime novel The Treatment to the big screen Lisa Bradshaw

U

sually when you’re asked a fantasy question, it’s not the intention that it’s going to come true. If you could live in any city, which would you choose? If you won the lottery, what would you buy? Paris, you answer chirpily, or a Porsche!

But when such a question was posed to Carl Joos, he knew full well that it could come true.

If you could choose any book to adapt into a film script, which would you choose? asked Peter Bouckaert of the production company Eyeworks. Name any book at all.

Joos knew immediately that he wanted to adapt something by the British crime writer Mo Hayder. “Her books are not only well crafted and very intelligent,” he says, “but on an emotional level, they really get to me.”

In the end, he chose the 2001 novel The Treatment. “It was the feeling it left me with when I turned the last page. It was a gut feeling.”

But adapting it wasn’t an easy task. “The intricacy of the relationships, the several plotlines – I knew it was going to be a challenge to do it, and I liked that,” says Joos. “If you get that kind of proposal – pick any book – you’re not going to pick an easy one. You want something to chew on.”

And voila – a few years later, and De behandeling (The Treatment) is hitting cinemas. Directed by Hans Herbots (Bo, Het goddelijke monster), it’s the story of a Flemish police investigator involved in a grisly case of home-hijacking and child murder. It’s also the first film made in Flanders based on a British crime novel.

It sounds like a dream come true, and it is, but it’s a far cry from winning the lottery.

Eyeworks wasn’t exactly taking a big risk in making the proposal. Joos is the writer behind the internationally hailed 2003 film De zaak Alzheimer (The Memory of a Killer), 2009’s follow-up Dossier K and many episodes of the TV series Witse and Flikken.

He also wrote the treatments for all 10 episodes

Screenwriter Carl Joos at home with his storyboard – an old cabinet from a herb shop. He sticks post-its on the drawers to map out scenes

of the First World War TV drama In Vlaamse velden, currently showing on Eén. And he co-scripted the Oscar-nominated The Broken Circle Breakdown, together with director Felix Van Groeningen.

It’s thus for good reason that the writer’s influence in De behandeling is felt in every aspect of the finished product. “In the screenplay, I describe the sounds and light,” he explains. “I tried to describe what kind of light is filtering through as they move through the victim’s house. I try to convey the mood of the scenes and then hope they’ll pick it up.”

And did they? He pauses. “I don’t have a reputation for always being satisfied with the end product. But this time I’m very satisfied.”

The subject matter, he admits, “is risky.

Audiences aren’t just going to eat it up.” One of De behandeling’s most difficult scenes is one that audiences aren’t likely to have witnessed before: the preparation of a child for an autopsy – cutting the ropes that bind him, uncurling him from a foetal position.

It’s rough stuff, but it’s also achingly tender and one of the movie’s most emotional moments.

Joos provided instructions for the filmmakers

“for what the audience should see and not see, shot by shot,” he says, “in order to get the message to everyone working on the film that the details here would be very important. How the actors would do things, like pass the measuring tape to each other, how they handled the child, what would be covered by people standing in the way of the camera, things like that. I put a lot of effort into that in order to make it realistic enough, like in the book, without moving into the realm of exploitation. We tried to do it as respectfully as possible.” `` www.debehandeling.be

The biggest star you’ve never heard of B ack in 1999, an eight-year-old boy plucked up his courage and took a deep breath. He filled his lungs until he thought they would burst, and then blew out as hard and as long as he could.

Glenn Van Looy was blowing into a euphonium for the very first time, and it altered his destiny. That one breath set in motion a series of steps that led to the boy from Bonheiden being recognised as one of the leading euphonium players of the 21st century.

Proof of this is evident from his impressive list of awards.

International Soloist of the Year at the Ern Keller Memorial (Sydney, Australia). The youngest winner of the British Open Solo Championship.

Winner of the Lieksa International Euphonium Competition (Finland) and the Jeju International Brass Competition (South Korea). Twice a winner at the World Music Contest (Kerkrade, the Netherlands). And he’s only 22.

But what made Van Looy pick up a euphonium in the first place? “My father is a trombone player and an amateur conductor of wind bands

14

and brass bands,” he explains. “My sister plays trombone, and my mother was a saxophone player. So I grew up in the world of music.”

Van Looy remembers going along to local brass band rehearsals every Friday evening and listening to all the instruments. “The euphonium was the one I liked the most because of its warm, rich sound, so I thought I would give it a try,” he says, adding that his father taught him at first. “It was difficult, of course, but it also

felt natural.”

Recognising a talent, Van Looy Sr put his son into local music competitions. He won every category he entered, so his father cast the net wider and entered him into competitions in the UK, France and the Netherlands. First prizes continued to pour in.

In the meantime, at the tender age of 12, Van Looy began a 10-year stint as solo euphonium with Brass Band Heist, a position he would hold until

joining Brass Band Buizingen, one of the top bands in Europe, in 2013. All the while, he continued his studies at the Secondary School of Art in Antwerp and the Lemmens Institute in Leuven.

Last year Van Looy released his second CD, Stories of Life. Recorded with the prize-winning Norwegian band Manger Musikklag, it includes new concertos by Flemish composers Steven Verhelst and Stan Nieuwenhuis.

The album was recently named Solo CD of the Year by UK magazines Brass Band World and British Bandsman and by the website 4barsrest.com (which, incidentally, made Van Looy their 2013 Player of the Year). Judges declared that Stories of Life is “another remarkable display of the virtuosic talents of the Belgian euphonium superstar – and proof positive that he is now one of the banding world’s supreme

6 February, 20.00

performers.”

Having achieved so much in such a short time, are there goals left? “I would love to play more orchestral music, even though the euphonium isn’t an instrument in the standard symphony orchestra,” he notes, adding that some contemporary composers have begun writing more classical music for the euphonium.

In this respect, 2014 is off to a good start. Van Looy will soon play Jukka Linkola’s Concerto for Euphonium with the Luca School of Arts Symphony Orchestra in Leuven. It in fact marks the start of a hectic year.

Two days later, he is performing Uphill with Brass Band Buizingen in Halle. He then plays in the Flemish Opera’s orchestra for its production of Otello throughout March (see p15), immediately followed by a three-week tour of Scandinavia.

Denzil Walton `` www.glennvanlooy.be

Luca School of Arts Symphony Orchestra Lemmensberg 3, Leuven

www.tinyurl.com/lucaconcerts

agenda

Flanders today

January 29, 2014

Star tenors in Rossini’s forgotten Shakespeare

Concert

Otello

Bruges Daverend/Unplugged: Bruges celebrates local talent with this free, yearlong concert series. The first features two hard-driving rock groups: Them Chemicals and Calling Susan

7-18 February Flanders Opera Antwerp 28 February to 9 March Flanders Opera Ghent www.vlaamseopera.be

T

hink of the opera Otello, and you probably think of Verdi.

But first came Rossini, whose Otello, Ossia il moro di Venezia broke new ground in 1816 with its operatic treatment of Shakespeare’s story and arguably influenced Verdi’s treatment some 70 years later. Now, thanks to Flanders Opera, there is a rare chance to see Rossini’s version performed.

One reason this Otello is so rarely staged is that it calls for three tenor voices in the leading male roles, as well as another couple in support.

Even if a company can draw on that many tenors, there remains the challenge of making each voice stand out.

Flanders Opera has addressed this by turning to Alberto Zedda, the 86-yearold director of the Pesaro Rossini Opera Festival and an expert in the composer’s work. As well as acting as musical director in this production, he has brought along some of his star tenors: Gregory Kunde in the title role, Maxim Mironov as Rodrigo and Robert McPherson as Iago. Carmen Romeu, who plays Desdemona, is also a Pesaro regular.

The character names may be true to Shakespeare, but Rossini and librettist Francesco Maria Berio played fast and loose with the original. Now the action takes place exclusively in Venice rather than

CONCERT

get tickets now

Ennio Morricone

11 April, 20.30 Paleis 12, Brussels Ennio Morricone (pictured) is an example of that rare artist who found critical and commercial success early and never lost them.

The Italian soundtrack composer of some of the most iconic scores in cinematic history – including The Untouchables, Once Upon a Time in America, Footloose and Days of Heaven – has won almost every award under the sun, from Grammys to Golden Globes to BAFTAS. Despite many nominations, the Oscars have always eluded him, though he received an honorary Oscar for his body of work in 2007.

More importantly, Morricone has been cited as an influence by artists from every genre of popular music.

The maestro’s current concert tour celebrates a career spanning a half-century, which has yielded

7 FEB 20.30 at Daverlo, Dries 2

``www.brugge.be

Dilbeek

moving early on to Cyprus, and there are some significant variations in the characters and their relationships.

Yet the themes of jealousy, deception and racism all remain, with a tragic ending that was a brave departure from operatic convention at the time.

Originally staged last year in Zurich

with a different cast, this production, directed by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, has an early 20th-century feeling to it. With settings ranging from high society to an immigrant cafe, the themes of class and race division come through loud and clear.

Ian Mundell

CLASSICAL Bryn Terfel

www.paleis12.com

6 February, 20.00 Bozar, Brussels The National Orchestra of Belgium regularly reaches across borders to perform with the great voices of our time, including Peruvian opera singer Juan Diego Flórez and German tenor Jonas Kaufmann. This time it’s Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel (pictured here as Richard Wagner’s pagan king of the gods, Wotan). The orchestra

6 FEB 20.30 at Westrand, Kamerijklaan 46

``www.westrand.be

Performance Brussels Hans was Heiri: Contemporary Swiss theatre duo Zimmermann & de Perrot stage their latest production, a smart blend of circus, dance, theatre and music 30 JAN to 2 FEB at KVS, Lakensestraat 146

www.bozar.be

is conducted on the occasion by another Welshman, Gareth Jones, who has collaborated with Terfel for over a decade. This dream team has been assembled for two performances only, one in Brussels and another in Paris. On the programme: works

by Wagner, Giuseppe Verdi, Charles Gounod and more. GV

``www.kvs.be

Visual arts Brussels Nautilus – Navigating Greece: This exhibition, exploring the Greeks’ long and formative history with the Mediterranean, is the centrepiece of the cultural programme surrounding the Greek Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Includes ancient artefacts as well as contemporary works Until 27 APR at Bozar, Ravensteinstraat 23

``www.bozar.be

more than 500 soundtracks. He is accompanied on stage by an army of musicians and choir singers 200 strong. Georgio Valentino

Literature Brussels

VISUAL ARTS

PERFORMANCE

RE: Painted

The Valerie Solanas: Beat the Hippos

Until 27 April SMAK, Ghent Ghent’s contemporary arts museum relates the history of painting in a single exhibition. It turns out one of the world’s oldest known art forms (see the famous cave paintings in Lascaux, France) is also one of the most modern, having undergone radical transformations in the past 150 years. Each of RE: Painted’s seven themed galleries highlights one aspect of the painter’s practice

Jef Neve: Recently returned from a solo tour of Australia, the contemporary Flemish jazz pianist re-joins his octet to perform pieces from the new album Sons of the New World

www.smak.be

and how it has contributed to the tectonic shift from traditional to contemporary art, from an art of verisimilitude to an art of suggestion and experimentation. The works are plucked from SMAK’s own collection. Karel Appel, Francis Bacon, Henri Michaux (pictured), Michaël Borremans and Marlene Dumas are some of the artists on show. GV

7 February, 20.30 De Studio, Antwerp The best-remembered of rock’s flautists is Jethro Tull’s theatrical frontman Ian Anderson, but an arguably better example was the fledgling Genesis’ even more theatrical frontman Peter Gabriel.

Perhaps because it represents the antithesis of loud and proud rock’n’roll values, the flute identifies the rock group that isn’t really a rock group but rather a cryptoperformance art troupe. Antwerp quartet the Valerie Solanas, led by singer/flautist Michaël Brijs, is one of these. The band’s “psychotheatrical production” Beat the Hippos: A Tribute to the Beat Generation blends music, spoken word and theatre. Musical inspirations range from yesterday’s Beat poets and jazz musicians to today’s punk rock. GV

www.destudio.com

De eeuw van Brussel: Marc Didden talks to fellow journalist Eric Min about the latter’s new book, De eeuw van Brussel, a history of the capital between 1850 and 1914 (in Dutch) 6 FEB 12.30 at Muntpunt, Munt 6

``www.muntpunt.be

Family Ghent Queen of the Night: This family-friendly adaptation of Mozart’s Magic Flute stars vocalist Greetje Bijma and the Flanders Opera Children’s Choir (ages eight and up) 31 JAN & 1 FEB at Flanders Opera, Schouwburgstraat 3

``www.vlaamseopera.be

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Flanders today

January 29, 2014

Talking Dutch

Ben Van Alboom @fakerholic By the way, that makes three (!) Oscar nominations in a row for Flemish cinema – and three’s a charm of course. #oscar #vlaamsefilm

Don’t mention the war Derek Blyth

I

t looked for one moment as if the First World War battles might have to be called off. Military groups all over the world had been planning a series of re-enactments on the Belgian battlegrounds. They were coming from almost every country that had fought in the mud of Flanders. And they would be armed to the teeth, because these organisations like to be realistic.

But there was a small bureaucratic problem that threatened to scupper the careful military planning.

Door de nieuwe, strenge wapenwet dreigde het erg moelijk te worden om hun historische wapens in België te krijgen – because of the new strict gun laws, it would be very difficult for them to come to Belgium bearing their historic arms, claimed the organisation 100 jaar Grote Oorlog (Great War Centenary).

It seemed for one moment as if plucky little Belgium would not have any mock foreign troops marching to its defence.

Die verenigingen, groepen met naam en faam uit onder meer de Verenigde Staten en Australië, dreigen daarom af te haken – these famous associations from countries like the United States and Australia

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were threatening to cancel because of the regulations, said a spokesperson for the Memorial Museum Passchendale. Ze vrezen juridische problemen, boetes, tot zelfs inbeslagname van hun wapens – they were afraid of legal problems and fines; they might even have to hand over their weapons.

No troops from the United States. No aid from Australia. If this had happened in 1914-18, Belgium would surely have fallen.

But the bureaucracy seemed insurmountable. Om het wapen in België te mogen bezitten, zouden deze mensen langs de Staatsveiligheid moeten passeren – in order to carry a weapon in Belgium, they would have been checked by the security service, warned justice minister Annemie Turtelboom. Om de wapens in te voeren, moeten ze dan weer een vergunning van de gewesten hebben – to import the weapons,

they would also need a permit from the regions.

But finally there was good news from the Western Front. The Flemish region was willing to grant a permit without too many questions being asked. Buitenlandse “soldaten” die naar ons land komen om de veldslagen uit de Eerste Wereldoorlog na te spelen, zullen hun historische wapens kunnen meebrengen – foreign soldiers who come to our country to recreate the battles of the First World War will be allowed to bring their old weapons.

The military invasion was allowed to go ahead because of a loophole in the law. “De Vlaamse overheid zal voor hen dezelfde procedure hanteren als bij wapenbeurzen” – the Flemish government will adopt the same procedure as it does with weapons fairs, said Flanders’ minister-president Kris Peeters.

De organisator van de re-enactment stelt zich verantwoordelijk om alle administratieve modaliteiten af te handelen – the organiser of the re-enactment will be required to take all the necessary steps to deal with the administrative issues. So it looks as if armed troops will be allowed to march through Belgium – as long as they fill in the right forms.

Tweet us your thoughts @FlandersToday

Poll

a. The evidence shows that homeschooling produces good results. Let these groups and parents get on with it without interference

22% b. Society has an interest in how children turn out, so the government has a legitimate role. Minimum standards are necessary

67% c. Why allow parents to take the place of professionally trained teachers? Homeschooling is inappropriate in this day and age

11% education or the workplace.

Interestingly, more than one in five of you agree that the government is simply interfering with a system that should be free to govern itself.

It’s an oddly libertarian position in a

Flemish context. One wonders how far people would be prepared to go in allowing parents other complete freedoms over their children such as declining vaccinations, for example.

But that’s another poll.

Next week's question:

Flemish mobility minster Hilde Crevits wants to reduce the blood alcohol limit for driving from the current 0.5ml to 0.2ml, which is lower than most European countries. What do you think?

Log on to the Flanders Today website and click on the link on the homepage to vote!

16

EatingWell Magazine @EatingWell This slow-cooker interpretation of Carbonnades Flamandes, a Flemish stew made with beer, is perfect comfort food http:// ow.ly/sIFW2 Liz Carlson @YoungAdventures A giant bucket of mussels for lunch – I love living on the water @ Leuven Belgian Beer Cafe http://instagram.com/p/ jp1gYZRR31/

nathaliedumon @nathaliedumon The best way to see glorious Ghent? On two wheels... http:// dailym.ai/1cHubAu via @MailOnline GuiDANCE Online @GuiDANCEOnline Been over to Brussels to see an awesome new #dance production! We’re bringing it to #Blackpool...#watchthisspace!! #GuiDANCE #LoveDance In response to: Bite, Poco Loco Guy Davenport: You can get very good Peruvian red wine in Belgium, you just need to know where to look.

In response to: Houses in Belgium least affordable in Europe Stee Tee: Odd, considering that rents in Brussels, Antwerp & Ghent are so affordable compared to Paris, London & Amsterdam...

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the last word

The government is facing legal challenges to its new rules on homeschooling from parents who feel their freedoms are being restricted. What do you think?

Two out of three of you seem to agree with the government that some kind of quality control is needed to ensure that children are leaving secondary school with the proper credentials to enter higher

VoiceS of flanders today

Race against time

Razor burn

“Every year the Belgians sign up late, but they’re going to have to hurry if they want to be there at all. A number of foreign tour operators are planning coaches, and there are only 4,000 places left.”

“It helps that a beard is more acceptable now in the workplace.

Before, you looked unkempt if you weren’t clean-shaven at your desk.

Now, it’s hip.”

According to a spokesperson, this year’s Tour of Flanders for amateurs could have a minority of local participants

Book shelved “Hemmerechts wrote one book that’s important: her debut. After that, things went downhill. I stand by my right to decide what I will sell and what I won’t.”

The owner of the bookstore Paard van Troje in Ghent refuses to stock the new novel by Kristien Hemmerechts, based on the story of child killer accomplice Michelle Martin

Antwerp fashion stylist Harald Ligtvoet on news that Gillette is losing money thanks to the falling popularity of shaving

Top Girls “You could see the passengers looking feverishly for a man.

When they realised all the pilots were women, they were shocked.

That doesn’t bother me; I’ve been having that effect on passengers for 29 years.”

Captain Katleen Van Orshaegen headed a crew of women on a recent Thomas Cook flight from Brussels to Egypt

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