In 2014, ADEM is having a party! This year, we celebrate not only the twentieth edition of the Croisée des cultures but also 30 years of the Ateliers d’ethnomusicologie. The abundant programme for this year’s Croisée was concocted from new suggestions for discovery from within the world’s traditional cultures.

This year we honour Persian dance, banned in its country of origin for more than 30 years, which Shahrzad Khorsandi will teach, accompanied by Ziad Mirabdolbaghi on the tombak. But we also honour dances from southern Italy with Roberta Parravano, those of the Orishas from Brazil with Rosangela Silvestre, West African dance with Serge Dupont Tsakpa and flamenco dance with Fuensanta la Moneta.

Wind and brass players could try out the alpine horn for the first time or perfect their technique under the direction of the famous specialist Balthasar Streiff. The Buddhist shômyô song tradition may not be very well known, but it is at the origin of Japanese music, and Junko Ueda will guide her students through their discovery of it.

Percussion enthusiasts can learn to synchronise the strikes on their instruments with their singing with Salvatore Meccio and Massimo Laguardia who cover the Italian repertoire, or they can try Persian percussion and music with Hossein Rad and Zia Mirabdolbaghi. Other percussion workshops will allow people to try out the taiko, the impressive drums of Japan, or Brazilian percussion with Letho Nascimento.

Finally, for the first time, a workshop aimed at teenagers will explore the link between dances of African origin and urban dance. This complements the musical journeys designed for children (aged between six and twelve), which will take them to Italy, Iran and Japan. And like every year, the heart of the Croisée des cultures will be the Parfumerie - a place where participants can eat and meet during the festive events that give rhythm to this meeting of cultures.

Astrid Stierlin