THEATRE DES CHAMPS-ELYSEES2007-12-17 Sara Baras (born Sara Pereyra Baras) is a famous flamenco dancer and choreographer. The 35-year-old Spanish woman is giving performances all over the world together with her company, "Sara Beras Flamenco". Her dance stagings are technical, beautiful as well as inventive and experimental. She draws inspiration from the Spanish culture, making the traditional Flamenco modern and original.
From 18 December to 7 January she's giving performances at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees. The new show is evoked by Carmen, the famous fictional character. Don't miss the bright and sensual show!

PELOUSE DE SAINT-CLOUD2007-12-17There's a beautiful and charming Russian fairytale about the Snow Princess. The plot is quite simple: a girl helps an old man who lives in the forest. The events take place on the Russian Orthodox Christmas eve, so miracles do happen at every turn...
The Pelouse de Saint-Cloud is hosting a circus show based on this fairytale. The performance features juggling, aerial hoops and ropes, balancing feats, acrobatics, clown acts and music. Children as well as adults will be delighted by the evening full of good mood, artistic skills and wonders!

PALAIS DE TOKYO2007-12-18Palais de Tokyo is hosting a traveling rooftop hotel, the unique creation of the restless art duet - Sabina Lang and Daniel Baumann. Called Everland, this is a completely transportable futuristic hotel, which was created for the Swiss Expo in 2002.
The interiors are cozy and comfortable: there'a a king-size bed, a bathroom and a lounge. Nice details such as a mini-bar or a set of LPs, add to the general impression of the hotel.
The hotel is open to general public at day and available for hire at night. Stays are allowed one person per night only.
Visit Palais de Tokyo and get fascinated by the original hotel as well as the beautiful views of Paris!

PARC DE LA VILLETTE2007-12-18From 10 to 21 December Paris is hosting the 100 Dessus Dessous (a dance-theatre-performance festival) titled "We Can Change The World". Artists from 8 countries participate in the event dedicated to all of art-lovers who want to take a little break, and let themselves go to all sorts of things surprising, excessive, insignificant and a bit derisory. The festival positions itself as a snapshot of the current events of the world.
Visit Parc de la Villette every evening at 7 pm (except December 16th). Plunge into the universe of contemporary art!

MUSEE DU LUXEMBOURG2007-12-19Musee de Luxembourg is hosting an exhibition of the works of Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527-1593), one of the most original Italian artists. He painted frescoes and was a court portraitist, but his name is remembered throughout the centuries due to the portrait heads composed of fruits, vegetables, tree roots, plants and even animals. Art historians and art critics still argue about the state of the painter's mental health. Nevertheless, he has been the source of inspiration for many outstanding personalities like Salvador Dali, Shigeo Fukuda, Istvan Orosz, Octavio Ocampo, Sandro del Prete and Jan Svankmajer.

FOUNDATION HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON2007-12-20

Helen Levitt was born in Brooklyn (NY) in 1931. After the graduation from school she began to work as a photographer. Later Helen became an art teacher, and at that time she got interested in the chalk drawings. She made photos of the children's graffitis, which later on developed into a book titled "In The Street: Chalk Drawings And Messages". The book was a great success and now is considered to be one of the "100 best photo-books". A series of exhibitions followed the publication of the book. Helen Levitt also tried herself as a director, shooting a film "In The Street".

Paris Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson is running an exhibition of her works portraying the everyday life of the New York youngsters. The photos are free from stereotypes and provide a new look at the kids living in the poor districts of the city.

THEATRE DU CHATELET2007-12-21The famous musical West Side Story is celebrating 50 years on the run. The story is based on Shakespeare's "Romeo And Juliet" adapted to the realities of the 20th century America. There are two rival gangs, the native kids and the Puerto Ricans. One of the white gangsters falls in love with the sister of the rival group leader and has to confront both gangs... The themes explored are love, racism and other social problems. To the choreography by Jerome Robbins, music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim the performance became a real watershed in the history of American musical theatre.
From 20 November 2007 to 1 January 2008 the visitors of the Theatre du Chatelet have a unique chance to admire one of the most celebrated American musicals. After Paris the musical will move to Beijing and London. A real must-see!

PALAIS DE TOKYO2007-12-21Ugo Rondinone is a New Yorker famous for his experimental and often shocking works and installations. From 27 September 2007 to 3 January 2008 Paris Palais de Tokyo is hosting an exhibition of his works titled "The Third Eye". This exhibition was inspired by a book written by William S Burroughs and the artist Brion Gysin. The authors cut sentences into parts and then mixed them rearranging the words to get a completely new sense. The two believed that the new creation was made with the help of somebody else, the third "being". That resulted in the title of the book.
Rondinone decided to make the same trick with the creations of the contemporary artists. He set 31 works in an unusual way to show the new sides of each item. What came out of it? See it with your own eyes at Palais de Tokyo!

Eglise St-Germain-des-Pres2007-12-24Christmas is awaited both by adults and kids. The oldest church in Paris, the Eglise St-Germain-des-Pres, is holding the traditional Christmas Mass, in the course of which the youngsters will be able to learn lots of interesting things about the feast.
The church was originally constructed in the 6th century as a Benedictine monastery. During the French Revolution it was partly destroyed and due to that fact much of the interior of the Eglise St-Germain-des-Pres was renovated. Luckily, the remnant of the original cloister still remain.

BERCY PALAIS OMNISPORTS2007-12-25The Bercy Palais Omnisports prepares a Christmas present for all basketball fans. The best players of the French basketball league will rival the non-French players who live and play in France. Games between All-Star French team and All-Star Foreign teams have been held annually since 1987. The event is always awaited by the admirers of basketball, more than 16,000 fans attend the game every year.
Don't miss one of the most spectacular and fascinating sports events!

LA TRABENDO2007-12-26Fond of hip-hop and funk? Find it difficult to go clubbing because of your kids? It's not a problem now! La Trabendo holds special parties, which are glad to welcome clubbers as well as families with kids.
The chillouts take place every Sunday and offer a large list of events, including music, dance, movies, exhibitions and performances. That's a nice possibility to entertain as well as to learn something new.
Don't hesitate to make a family outing to La Trabendo!

PARIS2007-12-26Christmas is undoubtedly associated with beautiful and richly decorated fir trees. Every year hundreds of them are installed in Paris to bring the spirit of holiday and fun to the French capital. They are particularly impressive at night when thousands of lights are on, illuminating everything around.
This year about 1000 evergreen beauties are placed in the city, concentrating mainly in the neighbourhood of the Champs-Elysees and the Place de la Bastille, although other districts of the capital also got their share of the fir trees.
All the fir trees are grown specially for the occasion in the Jura, so the tradition of installing fir trees in the city doesn't cause damage to the environment.
Enjoy strolling around Paris, feel the festive atmosphere of Christmas!

PALAIS DES CONGRES DE PARIS2007-12-27Are you fond of Indian movies with their dances and songs? If you answer positively, you'll certainly like the musical "Bharati" that will be run at the Palais des Congres de Paris from 17 January to 2 February. The show is back after a year's break. In 2006 "Bharati" premiered in Paris and hit a great success.
The staging is a very spectacular one: 70 artists, 800 costumes, giant screen, modern and classical dances, Indian movie songs...The main theme is of course love. Bharati and Siddharta long to be together but Bharati's father is against their relationships...what will happen to the loving hearts? Come to Palais des Congres de Paris and see the most fascinating story!

MUSEE DORSAY2008-01-06 00:00:00.000

MUSEE DE LA VIE ROMANTIQUE2008-01-09Jean-Jacques Henner is a French painter of the 19th century, who is particularly known for his works on religious topics and nudes. Among his most famous paintings are "Byblis turned into a Spring" (1867), "The Magdalene" (1878), "Portrait of M. Hayem" (1878), "Christ Entombed" (1879), "Saint Jerome" (1881), "Herodias" (1887), "A Study" (1891), "Christ in His Shroud", "Portrait of Carolus-Duran" (1896), a "Portrait of Mlle Fouquier" (1897), "The Levite of the Tribe of Ephraim" (1898), "The Dream" (1900).
From 26 June 2007 to 13 January 2008 Musée de la Vie Romantique is hosting an exhibition titled "Le Dernier des Romantiques", which brings together over 100 works of the artist. Many of the paintings have never been previously exhibited in Paris.

 

BERCY VILLAGE2008-01-09From 9 to 13 January Bercy Village is hosting the annual Bercy Modern Art Fair (Grand Marche de l'Art Contemporain). Over 100 artists will present their best paintings, ceramics, canvases and installations. Thousands of Frenchmen as well as foreign guests visit the event every year, and 2008 won't be an exception. Many Bercy restaurants and food stalls will stay open longer than usual to provide the art admirers with the best dishes of the local cuisine.

THEATRE DES CHAMPS-ELYSEES2008-01-10Natalie Dessay is one of the most talented and famous French sopranos. Born Nathalie Dessaix, the future star was dreaming of a ballet career and later she wanted to become an actress. But she turned to music after revealing a gift for singing. She studied at the Conservatoire national de région de Bordeaux and after graduation sang in different theatres throughout the country. Natalie is the winner of many prestigious musical prizes and awards.
Opera fans have a possibility to see (as well as to listen to) the diva at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees, where Natalie will be performing together with Concerto Köln directed by Evelino Pido.The audience will be treated to the best Italian arias (Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, Rossini, Cherubini). Don't plan anything for the 22 of January!

LOUVRE2008-01-11Art admirers will certainly appreciate the new exhibition run at the Paris Louvre as "Dessins Francais" brings together 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century drawings recently bought by the Louvre abroad and the works that are housed in the Hessisches Landesmuseum in Darmstadt. The latter museum disposes of the admirable collection of French art that is considered to be one of the best in the world.
The works of such painters as Le Brun, Poussin, Watteau, Boissieu, Cousin and Callot are on display. "Dessins Francais" is the event that should not be missed!

 

PARIS2008-01-14Shopaholics get ready! Great sales take place all over Paris since 10 January. The event started at Galeries Lafayette on Wednesday and was carried on with the other stores. Big shops as well as small boutiques take part in "le mois du tourisme shopping". January sales offer the customers great discounts, which can reach up to 70 per cent. That's a good chance to buy items by the most respectable, as well as democratic, brands at bargain basement rates.

PARC DE LA VILLETTE2008-01-15Have you ever thought how the world looks with the animals eyes? Now you have a chance to take an insight into the world of animals, to learn about the questions of animal welfare and conduct, and to explore the psychology of the creatures by visiting Betes et Hommes (Animals And People). The exhibition is run at the recently re-opened Grande Halle of Paris Parc de la Villette. More than 100 topical works are on view. Varied video installations, models, photographs and living exhibits will certainly arouse interest both in kids and adults.