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KVS

Tutu Puoane

Tutu Puoane is an internationally renowned (jazz) singer who grew up in the townships of Pretoria in South Africa. She studied at the Music College of the University of Cape Town (UTC) before moving to Europe. Tutu spent two years at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague (Netherlands) and eventually moved to Antwerp. 

Tutu's music is a mix of African, European, and American traditions. Her repertoire includes her own compositions, songs from the Great American Songbook and arrangements of South African originals. Tutu performed with Toots Thielemans and Brussels Jazz Orchestra, among others, and made several solo CDs. Two of her albums, Quiet Now and Mama Africa (a collaboration with Brussels Jazz Orchestra) were awarded a South African Music Award (SAMA) for Best Jazz Album in 2010 and 2011. Breathe was the first release from SoulFactory Records, the independent record label she founded with her husband, music and business partner Ewout Pierreux.

Besides music, Tutu is also increasingly involved in theatre. In 2015, she worked and toured the world with Wim Vandekeybus and his dance theatre production Speak Low If You Speak Love by Ultima Vez. Since 2019, she has been one of the actresses in an all-star cast of Dear Winnie, the highly successful and award-winning co-production of KVS (Brussels) and NNT (Groningen). In the coming years, Tutu will lend her collaboration to several (music) theatre productions by KVS.