A wind of French swing is forecast for Dublin from 16 June to 25 June 2011

Get ready for the sixth edition of the Let’s French… Festival of French Music!
7 days of concerts and screenings around Dublin with a wide selection of French music from the most contemporary Folk and Pop to the famous French Chanson!

The festival opens on Thursday 16 June at the Mercantile with the performance of Stranded Horse, a French artist who brings a dreamlike quality to his acoustic melodies and vocals.

On Saturday 18 June, a special “Basque evening” takes place at Dublin Castle with Alegera, a brass band from Bidart (Biarritz) flown in for the occasion. The event celebrates Basque Culture through its traditional music and typical food and drink from the region with a free tasting.

On 19 and 20 June, the IFI presents two one-off special screenings of French films in which music and rhythm play a very central role: Rubber by Quentin Dupieux and Les chansons d’amour by Christophe Honoré.

The South William welcomes Amsterdam Beat Club on Tuesday 21 June, the date of “la Fête de la musique”, for an unforgettable night with an un-beat-able Cocktail of the very best Vintage Music from Swingin' Sixties Sounds to Ska music!

The Alliance Francaise opens its doors on Thursday 23 June for a unique concert of French chanson with the famous singer Agnès Bilh – a musical Trip to France guaranteed!

And finally, to close the festival, Let’s French is proud to present two singers representing the “nouvelle scène française” at the Village on Saturday 25 June. The evening begins with the performance by Claudine Muno and The Luna Boots followed by Tété, one of the most prolific Pop/Folk French singers of the last ten years. This is his first performance for a Dublin audience…A show not to be missed.

For more information about the booking, the price of the tickets, etc. please visit our website: http://www.lets-french.ie/

Recital of Reynaldo Hahn’s songs with the Royal Irish Academy of Ireland

Wednesday 25 May at 7pm




The Royal Irish Academy of Music in association with the Alliance Francaise Dublin present "L’Heure exquise", a concert celebrating the music of Reynaldo Hahn.

Devised by the award-winning pianist Marek Ruszczynski

The songs of Reynaldo Hahn may not be as popular as those of other French musical giants but they certainly deserve to be brought to the attention of music lovers. The sublime taste and sensibility of this unique and much-loved composer enabled him to create true jewels in the field of song-making during the period of modernism. L’Heure exquise provides Dublin audiences with the opportunity to experience ephemeral beauty and charm. Balancing deliciously on the verge of light and the profound, this evening of music-making will offer an unforgettable insight into the Parisian salon from the times of the fin de siècle.

Anna Brady, soprano
Laura Murphy, mezzo-soprano
Patrick Hyland, tenor
Benjamin Russell, baritone
Alexander Bernstein and Nadene Fiorentini, piano


Admission Free - RSVP: info@alliance-francaise.ie

"Dance Expression", Portraits by Peggy Jarrell Kaplan from 17 May to 24 June

Dance Expression, by the New York-based photographer, Peggy Jarrell Kaplan, features portraits from 1986 to 2011 that relate to the history of French contemporary dance, the 2011 Dublin Dance Festival, and dance in Ireland. Kaplan has been photographing performing artists who explore new dance forms for more than three decades and has compiled a collection that represents almost all those choreographers that have come to define contemporary dance today.

Working within the tradition of black and white classical portraiture, Kaplan approaches dance obliquely, conveying qualities related to performance, but without reproducing it. Intense close-ups incorporate their own drama and implied corporeal energy. Kaplan sees the photographic studio as a small stage and questions the relevance of sincerity in our digital age.

Peggy Jarrell Kaplan has exhibited her portraits in international dance festivals and at performing arts venues in Europe, North America, and South America. She has a long association with French dance including exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou and at the French Institute Alliance Française in New York. Other series include a history of Japanese dance and underground visual artists from the Soviet Union. Her portraits of Andy Warhol, Joseph Beuys, Pina Baush, William Forsythe, and Merce Cunningham have been widely reproduced. Her work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum in New York.

The French writer, Jean-Marc Adolphe, has written of her work: In the reciprocal touch of the face and the image, the passion of the portraitist meets the passion of the choreographers.

This exhibition is part of the Dublin Dance Festival and will run from 17 May to 24 June in the Gallery of the Alliance Française.

Opening hours: Monday-Thursday: 8.30am - 7.30pm; Friday: 8.30am - 5.pm; Saturday: 8.30am - 2pm

CHILDREN’S BOOK LAUNCH - "Mon Carnet de voyage en Irlande" by Aurore Finlay and Eglantine Bonetto

Saturday 14 May from 11.30am to 1.30pm


After London, Paris and Madrid, Jo comes to Ireland with Mon carnet de voyage en Irlande.
This special green guide is filled with practical information, stories and puzzles. Children will have great fun interacting with this book, while learning all about Ireland.
Aurore Finlay (writer and teacher at the Alliance Française Dublin), aided by Eglantine Bonetto (illustrator), will help you through this wonderful journey.
Collection « Jo et moi autour du Monde » Editions Sikanmar. www.joetmoi.com

Admission free - No booking is required
Venue: Alliance Française - 1, Kildare Street - Dublin 2

LITERATURE NIGHT – Murder in the City organised by Dublin UNESCO City of Literature and Eunic

Wednesday 11 May at 6.30pm




Dublin UNESCO City of Literature invites you to discover exciting contemporary European writers in the intimate surrounds of the Sugar Club, Leeson Street. Enter the murky world of crime and murder as writers from the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Italy and Scotland read and discuss their works. An atmosphere of suspense and intrigue will be created by musicians from the Dublin Institute of Technology. Crime journalist and writer, Niamh O’Connor, will introduce this exhilarating cast of contemporary crime-writing talent.
On this occasion, the Alliance Française Dublin will introduce Pierre-Olivier Lombarteix whose book Runes is about murders in Dublin.

Admission free - No booking is required.
More information on: www.dublincityofliterature.ie, tel: 01 674 4862, email: catherine.duffy@dublincity.ie
Sugar Club – 8, Lower Leeson Street – Dublin 2

Board Games Evening: French-speaking Culture Quiz

Wednesday 11 May at 7.30pm





The Médiathèque at the Alliance Française Dublin opens its doors once again from 7.30pm to 9pm for a games evening: a quiz about French-speaking culture!
You will discover, or re-discover, games in French such as Pictionary, Tabou, Cranium, and many more.
The games will be adapted so that they are accessible to all learners of French, whatever their level. It will be an opportunity to speak French but also to discuss French-language culture (film, literature, history and current affairs) through the game.
The evening is open to adults at all levels in French

In the library – AF members only – limited to 12 players
Admission free – RSVP: library@alliance-francaise.ie or 01 638 1443