Performing Arts

The "Gifts We Carry: Sounds of Migration and Memory” concert will combine musicians from several backgrounds and cultures, including Salar Nader on the tabla and Homayoun Sakhi, a master on the Afghan stringed instrument the rubab. 

After Long Absence, the Folklife Festival Returns to the National Mall

The much-loved summer event, featuring the United Arab Emirates and Earth Optimism programs, opens with a concert hosted by Yo-Yo Ma

Tiger tamer Alexander Lacey gets his tigers on their feet in one of the final performances of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

The 'Greatest Show on Earth' Is Coming Back—Without Circus Animals

After seemingly closing for good five years ago, Ringing Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will launch a new, more modern show in 2023

Originally founded in 1889, the Moulin Rouge has been a Parisian landmark for more than 130 years. 

The Windmill That Gave Paris' Moulin Rouge Its Name Is Now an Airbnb—And Is Booking for Just $1

A lavish room atop the iconic performance venue will welcome travelers for three nights in June

Employees at an Oklahoma recycling center found several pieces of a stolen bronze sculpture depicting ballerina Marjorie Tallchief.

Thieves Stole, Hacked Up and Sold Sculpture That Honored Famed Native American Ballerina

The culprits sawed the life-sized bronze tribute to Marjorie Tallchief into pieces

Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson depicted the experiences of Black Americans through often-overlooked, working-class characters.

How Playwright August Wilson Captured the Highs and Lows of Black America

An immersive exhibition in Pittsburgh explores the award-winning dramatist's life and legacy

A member of the Young Tuxedo Brass Band from New Orleans poses with Ukrainian youth in Kyiv, May 1990.  

The Music and Freedom We Experienced on the Streets of Kyiv

The story of a joint Smithsonian-Soviet-Ukrainian program in 1990 lends poignant resonance to Russia’s brutal invasion today

The Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk, Maine, hosts an "All Souls Walk" at the town's Hope Cemetery.

In Cemeteries Across the Country, Reenactors Are Resurrecting the Dead

Gravesite readings and performances keep the stories of the dearly departed alive for a new generation

Josephine Baker's remains will be reinterred at Paris' Panthéon on November 30.

Performer Josephine Baker to Be First Black Woman Buried at Paris' Panthéon

The talented entertainer, activist and spy will be the fifth woman accorded one of France's highest honors

Russian physicist and engineer Lev Sergeyevich Termen—who later came to be widely known as Léon Theremin—invented his namesake instrument around 1920. Here, he's pictured in 1928.

The Soviet Spy Who Invented the First Major Electronic Instrument

Created by a Russian engineer, the theremin has delighted and confounded audiences since 1920

Jimi Hendrix, 24, in his breakout set at Monterey in 1967.

The Exotic Vest That Introduced America to Jimi Hendrix

The fashionable garment conjures the guitarist's dazzling performance at the Monterey County Fairgrounds

David Copperfield has sold more tickets than any other solo performer in history.

How Harry Houdini and David Copperfield's Jewish Heritage Shaped Their Craft

The illusionists join Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Steven Spielberg in the National Museum of American Jewish History's hall of fame

Following the Monday performance, the Barcelona opera house donated its 2,292 houseplants to local health care workers.

Audience of Plants Roots for Barcelona Opera House on Opening Night

The leafy crowd enjoyed a string quartet's performance of Puccini's "Crisantemi"

A view of the modified seating arrangement at the Berliner Ensemble

How a Berlin Theater Will Enforce Social Distancing

The venue removed more than half of its seats to keep audience members safely separated

Shakespeare's Globe is a meticulous replica of the Elizabethan theater where the Bard's plays were once performed.

COVID-19 Shutdown Threatens the Future of Shakespeare's Globe

The London theater—a replica of the original 16th-century venue—relies on proceeds from live events now on hold due to the pandemic

Martha Graham and Erick Hawkins in Appalachian Spring

New York Public Library Acquires Archive of Modern Dance Pioneer Martha Graham

The trove includes photographs, scripts, recordings and correspondence

The first page of The Corner of Heart-to-Hearts, a zine by Chad Shomura and Yumi Sakugawa

New Virtual Exhibition Showcases the Healing Power of Art

“Care Package” showcases Asian American and Pacific Islander artists, writers and scholars as sources of solace during the Covid-19 pandemic

General view of the audience and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

After Closure, the Met Opera Offers Free Streaming of Past Performances

Each night, the institution will post an encore showing of an opera from its "Met Live in HD" series

The Inuit drum-dance group Pamyua will perform in Washington, D.C. and New York City.

New Music and Dance Fusions Kick Off Native American Heritage Month

The National Museum of the American Indian is webcasting many of these public programs live, then archiving them online

The mostly retired singer-Songwriter Paul Simon told financier and philanthropist David M. Rubenstein that a recent dream has prompted him to work on a new extended piece of music.

Paul Simon Has 50 Ways to Charm an Audience

As the 2019 recipient of the Smithsonian’s Great Americans Medal, the musician divulged he still has one more song to write

The exceedingly private and humble Marian Anderson (Above: by Beauford Delaney, 1965, detail) would become a worldwide phenom.

How Marian Anderson Became an Iconic Symbol for Equality

Her beautiful voice famously rang out from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial; a new show takes a look at the highs and lows of her global acclaim

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