Gem in the spotlight: dog dancing on Heritage Day
20 Apr 2023Today is Heritage Day! And that means that almost 670 heritage organisations in Flanders and Brussels are opening their doors to the public. This year’s theme, focusing on tangible and intangible heritage, is ‘Beastly!’ – the perfect opportunity for us to showcase a ‘beastly’ gem from one of our content partners. So we delved into regional broadcaster ROBtv’s archives and found this remarkable highlight.
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Hans dances through life with his dogs. It’s just a bit of fun for his pets, but it’s a creative pastime for him. There’s never a day goes by without their favourite training. And it’s crucial for Hans that his dogs continue to enjoy it: ‘As long as the dogs like it, it’s fine with me. And as soon as I see that the dog isn’t having fun, that’s where it stops.’
One of his career highlights as a dog dancer was at a dog show in Birmingham. Hans and his faithful friend prepared for this event with a song to capture the imagination, some carefully conceived choreography, and matching costumes. We hope that the judges enjoyed their version of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ as much as we did!
We regularly highlight treasures like this from our archive system by showcasing them on our website. This clip comes from the archive of content partner ROBtv.
Heritage Day 2023: animal heritage in the spotlight
Heritage organisations have been opening their doors for Heritage Day for over 20 years already. This peek behind the scenes give the general public an opportunity to discover some of the wealth of tangible and intangible heritage that Flanders and Brussels has on offer. The new theme each year creates an exciting dynamic between different people and organisation in the world of heritage: from museums to heritage societies, local history groups, and more.
This year, we have our fellow creatures in the spotlight. From carthorses, lapdogs, and cuckoos from Mechelen, to traditions with animals performing – such as dog swimming, Reynard the Fox, the first swallow and the ever-busy woodworm. Visitors are sure to encounter the full scope of the animal kingdom with more than 1000 free activities. Many schools will be introducing their pupils to this valuable heritage during the second edition of Heritage Week, from 17 to 28 April.