Escales de Créteil

Escales: Traveling through Music from Créteil

The Escales festival was born in 2008 from a shared conviction between the Maison de la Solidarité de Créteil and the Conservatoire à rayonnement départemental Marcel Dadi: music and performing arts are unparalleled bridges between cultures, and a festival can contribute to weaving connections between the inhabitants of a city as diverse as Créteil.

The festival's principle is simple and effective: each edition is dedicated to a different region of the world, chosen in connection with international current events and with the communities present in Créteil. This geographical rotation principle allows the festival, over the years, to cover a wide panorama of global musical cultures, from Kabylia to India, from Iran to the Antilles, from West Africa to Latin America.

A Multidimensional Program

Escales is not limited to concerts. Its strength lies in offering a multidimensional approach to musical culture, by articulating different formats that complement and enrich each other.

Concerts

Concerts are the visible heart of the festival. They host musicians and groups representative of the musical scene of the honored region, whether they are originally from the country concerned or French artists who have developed a practice of these music. Concerts are held in several venues in Créteil and partner towns in the Val-de-Marne.

Introductory Workshops

Introductory workshops on instruments, dances, and musical languages of the honored region are a highly appreciated aspect of the festival. Led by professional musicians and educators, these workshops allow participants of all ages to discover musical practices that are often unknown—playing the oud, dancing the cumbia, learning the basics of African percussion. These workshops often have a lasting impact on participants, awakening curiosities and practices that continue after the festival.

Documentary Film Screenings

Screenings of documentary films on the music and cultures of the honored region complete the program of concerts and workshops. These screenings, often accompanied by discussions with specialists or witnesses, offer historical and social depth to the festival's perspective on each culture.

Exhibitions

Exhibitions of photographs, musical instruments, crafts, and visual arts are presented in the spaces of the Maison de la Solidarité and in other partner venues, allowing for a visual and sensory discovery of the honored culture.

A Festival Rooted in Créteil's Diversity

Créteil is one of the most diverse cities in France, with communities from dozens of different countries. The Escales festival draws on this human richness by involving cultural associations and local communities in the construction of each edition. Residents originally from the honored country are invited to share their culture, their recipes, their testimonies, and their music, making the festival a tool for recognition and valorization of the minority cultures present in the city.