Performing Arts
Laurie Anderson on the Sounds of the Future
The multi-faceted artist sees a future in which artists change our auditory experiences
August 2010 |
By Jamie Katz
Spice Up Your Home Movies with Smithsonian Folkways!
If you couldn't tell from the heat (and the accompanying humidity), we're smack in the middle of summer, which means it's prime time for people to go on vacation. And who doesn't want to take along the video camera and capture those vacation memories for posterity? Given the advent of home video ed...
July 20, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Orphan Films - Recapturing Lost Snippets of History
Buffs gather from around the world to watch newly uncovered films by the likes of Orson Welles, Henri Cartier-Bresson and others
July 15, 2010 |
By Daniel Eagan
Live Aid: 25 Years Later
Twenty-five years ago today, on July 13, 1985, more than 170,000 music fans descended on Wembley Stadium in the UK, and the John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, PA., to experience Live Aid - a 16 hour-long, multi-venue concert, organized to raise money for relief of the 1984-1985 famine in Ethi...
July 13, 2010 |
By Katherine Purvis
Norman Rockwell’s Storytelling Lessons
George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg found inspiration for their films in the work of one of America’s most cherished illustrators
July 07, 2010 |
By Owen Edwards
2,168 Albums Later: The Legacy of Moses Asch
When Moses Asch (1905-1986) founded a tiny record label called Folkways with Marian Distler (1919-1964) in 1948, he wanted to be a resource for musicians to document the "entire world of sound."And by that, he really did mean the entire world. Between the label's founding and Asch's death in 1986,...
July 03, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
What Movies Predict for the Next 40 Years
From Back to the Future to the Terminator franchise, Hollywood has many strange and scary ideas of what will happen by 2050
June 30, 2010 |
By Brian Wolly
USA Wins! Celebrate As If You Were in South Africa!
Soccer and music blend together to create an atmosphere that is unique only to the beautiful game. For 90 minutes, players are serenaded by supporters who don't ask for tips in return, just that magical goal that sends them into hysteria.As you read this, USA supporters in South Africa are almost c...
June 23, 2010 |
By Ryan Reed
The Great Ballerina Was Not the Greatest Revolutionary
A 1959 failed coup of the Panamanian government had a shocking participant – the world-famous dancer Dame Margot Fonteyn
June 18, 2010 |
By Gregory Katz
Whistle While You Work
One of the things I remember most about growing up is that my dad was always whistling. Always. While he did the dishes, was out in the yard, driving us to soccer practice and even, to our horror, while walking around in public places (cause enough for my brothers and I to quickly dash to another a...
May 26, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Glee Clubs and Fans Take Note: Viva Mariachi!
Mariachi is a musical form whose popularity has endured for well over 100 years, crossing all cultural barriers. Indeed, these distinctive sounds of Mexico are even embraced by American schoolchildren with mariachi clubs springing up in middle and high schools, particularly in the southwest United ...
May 12, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Events: Puppets, Astronauts, the Vietnamese-American Experience, Christo and More
Sorry kids, nothing special is happening today. But be sure to check out this site for the long list of events and activities always happening at the Smithsonian.Tuesday, May 11: Tigers, Dragons, and Other Wise ‘Tails"This Smithsonian original puppet play provides wacky and modern spins on classic ...
May 10, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Legends of the Apollo
For more than 75 years, some of the world’s greatest entertainers have performed at the famous Harlem theater
May 10, 2010 |
By Lucinda Moore
A Centennial Birthday for the "First Lady Of Jazz"
At an age when most children just begin to learn the piano, Mary Lou Williams already had a steady piano gig.Born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs, Mary Lou was one of 11 children and began playing for parties when she was just six years old to help support her half-brothers and sisters. By age seven, she was...
May 06, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Events: Children's Day, Digital Art, Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and More!
Sorry kids, nothing special is happening today. But be sure to check out this site for the long list of events and activities always happening at the Smithsonian.Tuesday, May 4: Collectors' Roundtable: Collecting for the Long HaulWere you bitten by the collecting bug after watching last night's epi...
May 03, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Scanning a Stradivarius
Medical 3-D imaging makes it possible to study the world's greatest stringed instruments – and uncover the secrets of its makers
May 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
The Soul of Memphis
Despite setbacks, the Mississippi River city has held onto its rollicking blues joints, smokin' barbecue and welcoming, can-do spirit
May 2010 |
By Jamie Katz
Setting Tax Day to Music
Hate to break it to you, but your federal taxes are due today. Post offices are staying open late to accommodate the madding crowds of people who waited until the last minute to send in their forms. (Although those who decided to electronically file have the privilege of keeping the mayhem of decip...
April 15, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Events: Ethel Merman, Musical Theater, Apollo 13 Memorabilia and More!
Monday, April 12: The Music in the Musical: The Light in the Piazza and Sophisticated LadiesThe Smithsonian heads out to DC's Arena Stage in a panel discussion that will explore how the sounds of opera and jazz spring up in Broadway musical theater—specifically in pieces like The Light in the Piazz...
April 12, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Women's History Month: "Women Breaking Musical Barriers" From Smithsonian Folkways
For most of the years I spent in my college’s music conservatory, I was the only female tuba major. A little more than half a century ago, though, it’s unlikely I would’ve been there at all.Today, it’s easy to count the music industry as one place where women have seen equal, if not more, success ...
March 23, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
