100% PARTICIPATORY MUSICAL EXPERIENCES: YOUR QUESTIONS
Planning a corporate event, a school activity, a festival or a theatre show? SAMAJAM creates 100% participatory musical experiences where your participants become musicians! Find the answers you need to choose your experience and plan your event.
SAMAJAM AT A GLANCE
Who is SAMAJAM?
SAMAJAM unites people through collective, energizing and 100% participatory musical shows and events, where participants become musicians! Collective percussion playing, active audience participation and the cultural diversity of its artists bring its slogan to life: SAMAJAM ✩ YOU are the Show.
Its story began in 1994 with Louis Bellemare, its founder and artistic director. In 2026, that journey represents 32 years of experience and more than 6,000 productions presented in 10 countries.
Each year, SAMAJAM presents between 700 and 1,000 productions of all sizes in Quebec, Canada and internationally: workshops, shows, team building activities and custom events.
Every day, somewhere in the world, people play, feel the energy and come together to the rhythm of SAMAJAM!
What is a SAMAJAM 100% participatory musical experience?
SAMAJAM creates 100% participatory musical experiences where participants become musicians. Guided by SAMAJAM artists, they play together, tackle rhythmic challenges and make their percussion instruments resonate as a group.
Do you need to know how to play an instrument?
No. No musical skills are required: you learn by playing. SAMAJAM’s professional artist-facilitators demonstrate the movements, set the rhythm and guide the group step by step. The first sounds become shared rhythms, and the joy of playing together takes over, even if you have never picked up an instrument.
Are the instruments provided?
Yes. For shows and activities where participants play percussion, SAMAJAM provides the instruments: djembes, ClavSticks, SAMAJAM Music Tubes™, SAMAJAM tambourines or other percussion instruments, depending on the experience.
Dance and body percussion experiences use movement and the body. Other formats, such as the Percussion Guard of Honor, feature artists performing to welcome your audience and do not necessarily include instruments for participants.
TEAM BUILDING AND CORPORATE EVENTS
What is SAMAJAM musical team building?
SAMAJAM musical team building brings your team together around a challenge: making music together. Each participant listens to the others, finds their place in the rhythm and contributes to the group’s percussion playing.
With Team Building Djembes ✩ SAMAJAM and Team Building Show ✩ SAMAJAM, musical challenges can carry a message or theme developed with your organization. Your team brings it to life by playing, coordinating and building a shared success.
Team Building or Team Bonding: which should you choose?
Want to mobilize your team around a message, a change or a common goal? Choose a Team Building ✩ SAMAJAM experience. Want to celebrate, share the joy of playing and bring colleagues closer together? Team Bonding ✩ SAMAJAM is designed for that purpose.
The same instruments can serve both approaches. The preparation, musical challenges and facilitation are shaped around what you want your team to experience.
Which experience should we choose for our corporate event?
Start with the moment you want to create:
- Mobilize your team around a message: Team Building Djembes or Team Building Show.
- Bring colleagues closer through musical play in a creative, non-competitive setting: Drum Circles.
- Celebrate and share the joy of playing together: The Djembe Show.
- Energize an evening with a participatory musical experience: iRockStar.
- Set the tone as your audience arrives: BRAZILIA or the Percussion Guard of Honor.
We help you choose based on your goal, participant numbers, program, venue and budget.
Can you incorporate our organization’s values and messages?
Yes. Your message can come to life through collective percussion playing. Our Team Building experiences draw on the PercPACT ✩ SAMAJAM™ Method, developed by Louis Bellemare: four strategic pillars, seven facilitation phases and three intervention stages.
Preparation with your leadership team or organizing committee turns your goals into musical challenges. Listening, responding, coordinating and succeeding together give tangible form to the message you want to share.
Where can we see SAMAJAM experiences and read client testimonials?
Watch artists and participants playing together in the photos and videos of our experiences. They show the instruments, the facilitation and the group’s energy.
Desjardins, Vidéotron and Cirque du Soleil are among the organizations that have chosen SAMAJAM. Robert Dépatie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vidéotron at the time of the testimonial, describes the experience:
“For one magical moment, the room no longer held 1600 individuals, but one team mobilized toward a common goal.”
Translated from French. Read Vidéotron’s testimonial
More than 350 corporate testimonials and more than 600 school testimonials are also published on the site. Discover what organizers remember about their experience and read feedback from groups like yours.
Read corporate testimonials
Discover school and youth experiences
SCHOOLS, FESTIVALS AND INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
Which SAMAJAM experiences suit a school or youth group?
To get young people playing together and discovering rhythms and cultures, SAMAJAM offers participatory shows and workshops in percussion, dance and cultural discovery.
SAM & AJAM ✩ Rhythm Riders is the school adaptation of the international show SAMAJAM ✩ YOU are the Show, presented in 10 countries. For 55 minutes, students become musicians in a 100% participatory musical experience driven by collective percussion playing and cultural diversity.
Our other shows and workshops each open up their own musical worlds. Tell us the participants’ ages, group size, your goal and the time available: we will guide you toward the right experience for your school, preschool, camp or youth organization.
Which formats suit festivals, municipalities and presenters?
The choice depends on what you want your audience to experience:
- Get audience members playing together: The Djembe Show or SAMAJAM ✩ YOU are the Show.
- Bring festive energy to your event: BRAZILIA’s percussion, parades and audience interaction, or the percussion, acrobatics and African dance of DOUNYIA ✩ PERCUSSIONS.
- Offer several activities at one location: the International Musical Zone.
We work with you to choose the format based on your audience, programming, venue and technical conditions.
What is the international show SAMAJAM ✩ YOU are the Show?
Presented in 10 countries, SAMAJAM ✩ YOU are the Show is a 100% participatory musical show where audience members become musicians. Each person receives three percussion instruments and plays with the artists, guided by rhythms, humour and collective musical video games. Body percussion and creating melodies together are also part of the show.
This production is designed for theatres, festivals and international programming, among other settings. The format, capacity, technical requirements and schedule are confirmed with the presenter.
Can a company outside Canada host SAMAJAM?
Yes. SAMAJAM brings collective percussion playing beyond Canada, with productions presented in 10 countries. Team Building Show adapts the international show SAMAJAM ✩ YOU are the Show to your corporate event: your participants become musicians and play together.
Tell us the country, city, preferred dates, number of participants and your group’s language. We will review the artistic possibilities, availability and travel arrangements with you.
PLANNING AND PARTICIPATION
How many people can participate?
Here are the capacities of our main experiences, depending on the format and setup:
- Team Building Djembes: 10 to 1,000 participants.
- Team Building Show: 100 to 5,000 participants.
- iRockStar: 100 to 3,500 participants.
- Drum Circles: 20 to 200 participants.
Capacity depends on the show or activity, the instruments, the venue and the audience layout.
We work with you to choose the right format and setup so your group can play together in suitable conditions. At a school, multiple performances may sometimes allow students to be divided into groups. Include your expected participant count in your request.
How long does a SAMAJAM experience last?
Duration depends on the experience:
- Team Building Djembes: generally 30 to 60 minutes.
- SAM & AJAM ✩ Rhythm Riders, school version: 55 minutes.
- Regular school workshop: 45 minutes.
- International show SAMAJAM ✩ YOU are the Show: usually 75 minutes.
Tell us how much time you have and where the experience fits into your event. We will help you choose a suitable format. Setup and teardown time is additional to the performance.
How do SAMAJAM’s musical video games work?
In certain productions, the screen guides the group’s playing: images show participants when to play and how to contribute to the rhythms and melodies. Musical video games bring the audience’s instruments together in one shared musical creation.
They are included in some experiences or offered as an option, depending on the format. The standard school version of SAM & AJAM ✩ Rhythm Riders is entirely live, without a screen, projections or video games. Options and technical requirements are specified for each experience.
Where can we host SAMAJAM?
We bring collective percussion playing wherever your group gathers: a workplace, school, hotel, convention centre, theatre or suitable outdoor space, depending on the format. SAMAJAM travels throughout Quebec, elsewhere in Canada and internationally.
We review the space and technical conditions with you to accommodate the artists, instruments and participants. For outdoor events, planning also takes the weather and a backup plan into account.
Who provides the sound system, and what should we prepare on site?
For most smaller events and standard formats, SAMAJAM provides the necessary technical equipment, depending on the experience selected. For festivals, theatres and large productions, we work with the equipment available on site.
We confirm the space needed for the group to play, the electrical supply, the sound system and, where applicable, projection. Each team knows what to prepare before the artists arrive.
In which languages are the experiences offered?
Several SAMAJAM experiences are available in French, English or a bilingual format. Spanish and Portuguese are also possible for certain offerings, on request and subject to artist availability. The international show is presented in French, English or Spanish.
Tell us which languages your group speaks. We will confirm the languages available for your chosen experience.
How can we prepare the experience for participants with specific needs?
Tell us about your group’s needs during planning, including mobility, sensitivity to sound or understanding instructions. Some formats can be played seated, particularly those using djembes.
We will review how to organize the group’s playing with you: the choice of experience, group layout and possible adaptations. The arrangements will be confirmed with you before the event.
BUDGET AND BOOKING
How much does a SAMAJAM experience cost, and what does the proposal include?
The price depends on the experience, number of participants or performances, venue, artists involved and options. Some offerings follow an established format; others are customized.
Your proposal specifies the performances or activities, instruments, technical equipment and applicable costs, including travel when required. Share your goal and planned budget: we will recommend an experience suited to your group, with a clear proposal you can present to your management team.
How far in advance should we book?
Contact us as soon as you have a date or a time frame in mind. We can check the availability of artists and formats, then plan the musical moment that will bring your group together.
Is your event coming up soon? Send us your request: we will explore the possibilities based on the artists and formats available.
How can we receive a proposal for our event?
Tell us about the group you want to bring together. Choose the Corporate, School and Youth, or Shows form, then provide your preferred date, city, venue, number of participants and planned budget.
Add what you want your group to experience, the time available and your preferred language. For young participants, include their ages. Our team will respond in less than 24 hours to plan the next steps with you.
You can also reach our team at 1-855-TOP-BEAT.
