Traditional dance music is one of the greatest treasures of Europe’s intangible popular cultural heritage. It brings together musicians and dancers of all ages and dance levels into a communion that few other arts allow at that level, ensures social cohesion and reinforces the attractiveness of rural territories while contributing to their economic growth. The creation and circulation of traditional dance music face however a number of challenges. Traditional dance suffers from the backward-looking vision and a lack of transmission through education. These dances are rarely known outside rural areas, and their audience is limited. 

During its three years of activities, the Trad’Europe project – an ambitious cultural initiative dedicated to reviving, sharing, and reimagining Europe’s folk heritage funded within the Creative Europe programme – experimented new ways of changing the vision of traditional culture as a modern means of social inclusion. 

The project, where MCA played the role of associate partner, has been just completed in July 2025, after developing creative collaboration, artistic residencies, performances, also pioneering digital innovation. As an example, Lo Rondèu Trio developed activities for Occitan dance, music, language and culture, while the Ethnographic museum in Brasov has been working around the traditional culture of Romanian dances.

Together to live performances, Trad’Europe embraced innovation in culture, developing two new technology-based resources to make folk traditions more accessible than ever:

• 3D Dance Avatars and Motion Capture Showcases: Two lifelike digital performances of the Rondeau du Savès and Brașoveanca dances now live on YouTube, offering an engaging way for new audiences to discover and learn these dances from anywhere in the world. Using advanced motion capture technology, selected dance couples were recorded and transformed into lifelike avatars, complete with realistic costumes and fluid movement. These avatars were then integrated into immersive virtual environments inspired by landmarks from both countries.
• Romanian Dance Instructor Projection System: A unique floor-projected dance instructor system, installed at the Brașov Ethnography Museum, guides learners through traditional steps in an interactive, immersive setting. This unique system projects dance steps onto a floor space while synchronised video instructions appear on a screen, creating an intuitive environment for learners to practice and master traditional dances such as Brașoveanca, Hora Junilor, and Hodoroaga.
• Video recording of dances and their steps – used as a training material addressing educators, cultural practitioners, families, and the wider public.
• Common repertory – Lyrics, partitions for traditional music dances.

All together, these tools demonstrate how technology can safeguard intangible heritage, while inspiring the next generation to take part in Europe’s living traditions.

The key activities of the project also included two residencies and one festival. The Brașov Ethnography Museum organised in May 2024 the first artistic residency, merging French and Romanian artists, engaged in intensive workshops focused on exploring traditional music and dance repertoires. Through collaborative rehearsals, participants developed unique performances that blended French and Romanian folk styles, highlighting their shared European roots.

The second residency took place in France, in June 2025. French and Romanian musicians gathered to co-create new arrangements inspired by both Occitan and Romanian traditions, under the direction of Rémi Geffroy, renowned French accordionist known for his modern take on traditional music. Other artists were Lola Calvet, multi-instrumentalist and singer with deep roots in Occitan dance music, Bastazar Montanaro and Guillaume Roussille as well as Viorel and Radu Moisanu, instrumentalists from Brașov, Romania, celebrated for their mastery of Transylvanian musical styles.

Festival Highlight: The Saturday Night Concert

The creative work of the residency was unveiled to the public during the Lo Rondèu de Castelnau Festival, held from 25–30 June 2025 in Castelnau-Barbarens. The highlight came on Saturday night, when the residency ensemble took the main stage for a fantastic performance that captivated an audience of hundreds.

Over its lifetime, Trad’Europe has reached thousands of people, supported emerging artists, connected communities, and generated new ways for people to participate in Europe’s cultural story. The project’s outputs — from festivals and masterclasses to digital archives and educational resources — will remain accessible to all.

Visit https://www.youtube.com/@tradeurope2524 to access free videos, teaching materials, and updates — and follow the Trad’Europe spirit by dancing, teaching, and sharing the living traditions that unite us all.