What’s on this week: 26 April to 2 May

Whether you plan a full agenda for the Day of Dance or just happen upon events across  Brussels, you won’t be sorry. Most of the activities, whether indoor or out, are free or charge a nominal fee. There’s no need to buy a ticket in advance. See performances in all manner of venues and squares, such as projects in the works by students at P.A.R.T.S. dance school, who will spread themselves around the pedestrian zone; Stretch, a work in progress at Mad fashion and design studio, and King in New York, a hip-hop dance battle. You can get in on the act yourself by signing up for a dance workshop. 27 April, across Brussels and Flanders

The English Comedy Club presents Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw’s beloved classic play about Eliza Doolittle, a simple cockney flower girl who a linguist believe can be passed off as a duchess with just the proper training. 2-11 May, Warehouse Studio Theatre, Rue Waelhem 69A (Schaerbeek)

Classical meets electronica at Images Sonores, a month-long concert series in Brussels and Liège. The programme is split up among four venues, with each performance carefully placed in the most appropriate space, including Liège’s Musée de la Boverie. That’s where things kick off this weekend with the project Cantate Partisane, in which Belgian image and sound artist Tony Di Napoli connects four voices and an extensive array of electronics and lithophones – instruments made up of stones that produce tones when struck. 26 April to 26 May, across Brussels and Liège

The Brussels International Guitar Festival & Competition is back for its eighth edition, offering the chance to see big international names in guitar music, from Latin to rock to jazz. There are also master classes, lectures and a guitar-makers fair at Grand’Place. 26-30 April, Théâtre du Vaudeville, Galerie de la Reine 13

The former military barracks in Ixelles is being turned into an academic hub to be run by ULB and VUB. It will be called USquare and include student housing, a research centre, a cinema, food court and space for start-ups. But until then (about 2025), it will be home to the capital’s biggest temporary cultural project ever. About 50 organisations will set up shop at See U, providing all kinds of services, including an organic market, exhibitions, urban gardening plots and all manner of workshops. That officially opens at the end of June, but this weekend, the public is being given a sneak preview. The cinema will be operational, and there will be food, family activities, markets and more. 27-28 April, Fritz Toussaint 8 (Ixelles)

Brussels likes its jazz, which makes it a perfect city to take part in International Jazz Day. See jazz musicians in city squares, museums and concert venues around town. Jazz will play in metro stations all day, and RTBF will broadcast live from Jazz Station. Oh, and don’t miss Manneken Pis dressed up as the late, great Belgian jazz harmonica player Toots Thielemans. 30 April, across Brussels

It’s four on the floor with Bernard van Orley, only during … you know it … Bozar Night! Dance far past midnight to the sounds of electronic musicians and DJs in the esteemed presence of Bozar’s five exhibitions. Bozar Night is one wild ride neither dance fans nor museum aficionados want to miss. 30 April 20.00-3.00, Rue Ravenstein 23

The legendary Fuse nightclub, known internationally as a pioneer in supporting electronic musicians, is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a 14-hour party. 25 Years Fuse is not at the nightclub itself but at Palais 12 because it needed all the space it could get for a 600 square-metre LED wall, 136 beams and a line-up that includes Mind Against, Pierre and Downside. 27 April 20.00-10.00, Palais 12, Avenue de Miramar

OUTSIDE BRUSSELS

Namur has a new festival: Pshitt (not a swear word but the sound of a paint can) is a celebration of graffiti in all its many forms. Live painting, concerts, exhibitions, tours, skate contests and breakdance takes over the whole city. 30 April to 5 May, across Namur

The Festival of Flanders, a celebration of classical and new music – with smatterings of world, opera and jazz – takes place all year, with each city or province hosting its own version of the event. The sheer charm of Mechelen makes it a memorable one, but Lunalia is beguiling in its own right. It’s trademark mystical allure is grounded in its evoking of the power of the full moon; the city’s residents are known as maanblussers, or moon extinguishers, based on an embarrassing moment in 1687 when the glow of the moon was taken for a fire in Sint-Rombouts cathedral tower. The varied programme also includes storytelling and music theatre. 27 April to 12 May, across Mechelen

Photos: Day of Dance/double bill Vandekeybus-Cherkaoui-FONTYS, SeeU/sau-msi-brussels (Reporters), Pshitt/©Alexas/walloniebelgiquetourisme.be