Happy New Year.... Again! This time say hello to the year of the rabbit as the Chinese New Year officially started yesterday (3rd of February). Because the rabbit represents peace and harmony, this year should be pretty placid, bringing a welcomed chance after the ferocious year of the Tiger. And to start this "New Year" on the right foot, here is your weekly round-up to guide you through the next seven days on the Riviera.

Starting off on an artistic note, don't miss your chance this Saturday, if you like classical music, to see Swan Lake performed by the St. Peterburg Ballet Theater at the Acropolis in Nice at 20:00 pm. The role of Odette will be played by Irina Kolesnikova, the company's prima ballerina.

The next day, you can head to Monaco for a Symphony concert at 6 pm at the Auditorium Rainier III. Conducted by Yakov Kreizberg, the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra will perform Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, K 622, and Anton Bruckner's Symphonie no 7.

If you love art and haven't seen it yet, you may want go to the Malmaison in Cannes where the exhibition "60 chefs d'œuvre de l'ecole Russe" has been extended to the 27th of February. Celebrating the nude in Russian art, the collection can be seen every day except Mondays and public holidays, from 10 am till 1 pm, and from 2 pm till 6 pm.

For the sport aficionados among you, the weekend is going to be mostly about rugby. The 6 Nations rugby tournament is kicking off tonight with Wales v. England at Millennium Stadium, followed by Italy v. Ireland and France v. Scotland on Saturday. That may be the perfect occasion to share a few pints of beers with your buddies in local bars as the Nice Rugby club is not playing this week! If you prefer soccer, the OGC Nice is hosting Sochaux at 7 pm, while the AS Monaco is playing against Toulouse at 5 pm on Sunday. Oh and don't forget that the Superbowl is on this Sunday night. It will be the Pittsburg Steelers v. the Green Bay Packers for what should be a very entertaining show!

If you are no couch potato, however, you may just decide to get up early Sunday morning and participate in the 14th edition of the Course du Soleil, an historic 21Km between Nice and Monaco along the sea-shore.

Meanwhile, in the Principality, the Monaco Yacht Club is holding the Primo Cup-Credit Suisse Trophy (3-6 and 10-13 February 2011), one of the most important winter monotype events in Europe. Nearly 1,000 sailors representing around fifteen nationalities are present for this 27th edition.

Finally, if you are looking for a job, you might want to check out the Employment Forum (le Forum de l'Emploi) that will be held all day on Tuesday at the Palais des Expositions in Nice.

That's it for this week. Once again...Happy New Year of the Rabbit! And as usual, don't forget to check our Facebook page for your daily slice of Riviera Life! And DO NOT forget to enter our great Valentine's competition!

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