Marinette Bonnert

Born in 1977 and raised in Malmedy, in the Belgian Ardennes, Marinette began playing the diatonic accordion at the age of 12 with Louis Spagna (dance music master in Wallonia), and discovered with him the importance of the relationship between dancers and musicians. She attended accordion and dance courses all over Europe, and played in several ballroom groups..

From the age of 18, she in turn taught the diatonic accordion, organized balls, and participated in the programming of music and dance courses in Borzée.

She has developed a playing style that focuses mainly on the integration of dance impulses, served by great melodic sensitivity.

In the 90s, she played with dance groups such as Tétralyre and Topaze. Then she met violinist Raymond Honnay in Matoufèt, and formed Moirai, a group with a very feminine energy.

From her 5-year stay in Austria, from 2008 to 2013, she returns with a wealth of experience in the transmission of dance music, thanks to collaborations with Vienna's folk scene, as well as with Vienna's University of the Arts (Universität für Darstellende Kunst). She has also collaborated with violinist Stephan Steiner and the group Hotel Palindrone (as musician and dance master), as well as with university professor Rudolf Pietsch and the Tanzgeiger.

As part of the Akkordeonfestival, she had the opportunity to meet the greatest accordionists living in Vienna, as part of the accordionists' orchestra directed by Otto Lechner. Her stay in Austria has given her privileged contacts with these musicians, as well as a good knowledge of German.

Today, back in Belgium, she continues her European musical projects, based on sharing and research on Walloon music and dance: 21 BOUTONS, Folk à Donf, Calamalys.

Alongside this journey as a musician, she gives diatonic accordion lessons in the academies of Nivelles and Hannut (since 2014), and Tamines (since 2017), as well as in several structures and during training courses, always defending the music side of dancing, as well as traditional music from Wallonia.

She also has a keen interest in traditional children's dance. To the sound of lively music from the traditional French-speaking repertoire, children's rhymes and nursery rhymes, as well as more recent creations, she takes children and their families to discover a world that moves, dances and sings with her groups Calamalys and Zim Boum Trad.

Since 2015, she has also embarked on the adventure of Ateliers de l'Accordéon, which offers accordion repairs, rentals and sales. Yet another facet of this profession.

Langue : French