Dance Spaces

Charleroi Danse

Charleroi danse, Belgium’s only choreographic center, occupies two imposing buildings 50 miles apart: La Raffinerie, in the municipality of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean in Brussels, and Les Écuries, in the city of Charleroi. Located in former industrial neighborhoods, these venues also represent two historical aspects of dance.

The former Gräffe sugar refinery was initially the headquarters of Plan K, a theater company led by Frédéric Flamand, Ali Mebirouk, Bruno Garny, Carlos Da Ponte, and Daniel Beeson – which from 1979 onwards turned La Raffinerie into an alternative multidisciplinary venue offering performances, dance, exhibitions, and concerts. Charleroi is home to the Ballet Royal de Wallonie, which presents its classical and neoclassical pieces at the Palais des Beaux-Arts.

In 1991, Frédéric Flamand took over the ballet company, founded the choreographic center, and a year later launched his famous biennial festival. In 1998, Charleroi danse moved into the former gendarmerie stables and, in 2004, the company settled permanently in both sites after renovation work at La Raffinerie. In a new episode of the “Dance Spaces” series, Fabienne Aucant, the director since 2022 (but a member of the team since 2009), guides us through the atypical spaces of this hub for Wallonian contemporary dance, where dance continues to be written in the present tense.

Biennale 25, Charleroi Danse
From 3 to 18 October 2025

Danser, une histoire.
100 ans de danse en Belgique 
Éditions Contredanse, 2025
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