The Performing Arts Series

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in cooperation with the Prince William Network, offers arts-based educational programming free to teachers and students across the country through the Performing Arts Series. Programs feature artists and companies who perform at the Kennedy Center and explore the areas of music, dance, theater, and literature.

The Performing Arts Series: Register to receive:
   
  • Is free to your school (online registration required);

  • Explores the performing and literary arts, featuring artists and companies who perform at the Kennedy Center;

  • Is broadcast live and allows students the opportunity to phone in and e-mail questions to the artists.

  • Allows students the opportunity to ask questions of the artists via e-mail.
  • Study guides for each program featuring instructional activities and resources delivered via e-mail;

  • Online access to the broadcasts and archived programs from previous seasons;

  • E-mail reminders for upcoming broadcasts with satellite information and technical support;

  • The opportunity to interact with the artists before and after the program by sending in questions via e-mail.

Register Now For Upcoming Programs and Access to Archived Programs

2009-2010 Performing Arts Series

Ella!

Fri, February 19, 2010
11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET
Grades 7-12

  Ella! Celebrating the life and work of legendary jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, Grammy® winner Dee Dee Bridgewater and Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer pay tribute to the “First Lady of Song” in a program that includes some of the songstress’s best-loved jazz hits. Supported by an ensemble from the Dizzy Gillespie™ All-Star Band, Ms. Bridgewater and Ms. Siegel show how Ella Fitzgerald has influenced singers of today, share film clips of this remarkable vocalist, and perform well-known favorites from Ella Fitzgerald’s repertoire.
 

Connections: More Science and Music

Thu, March 4, 2010
11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET
Grades 5-7

  Connections: More Science and Music Endangered species, synapses and neurons, condensation and precipitation—are these terms from a science course or a music class? In this fast-paced, multimedia performance by NSO cellist Yvonne Caruthers with her NSO colleagues Natasha Bogachek, violin, and Stephen Dumaine, tuba, students hear and see how a melody can be played on a laundry hose (or a tuba); how instrument makers are responding to the near-extinction of their favorite trees; and whether a violinist can break a world speed record...don’t miss it!
 

Limón Dance Company: The Traitor

Fri, March 26, 2010
11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET
Grades 7-12

  Limón Dance Company: The Traitor Limón Dance Company returns to the Kennedy Center with The Traitor, one of modern dance’s most significant works of the 1950s. The Traitor was Limón’s response to the McCarthy hearings and the climate of betrayal that haunted the arts and entertainment fields during this period. Against Gunther Schuller’s musical score of violence, passion, and tenderness, the tragedy of Judas and the theme of betrayal are portrayed in a detailed demonstration and explanation of the dancers’ movements followed by the full-length performance of Limón’s signature piece.
 

Shen Wei Dance Arts

Thu, May 6, 2010
11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET
Grades 7-12

   Shen Wei Dance Arts Choreographer and Kennedy Center artist-in-residence Shen Wei and his dancers take students on a journey in Re- (I, II, III), a triptych inspired by his travels throughout Asia. Filled with dramatic imagery, movement, and traditional as well as recorded music, students experience Asia through the eyes of this visionary artist known for blending modern dance with elements from theater, visual arts, and opera. In this multimedia presentation moderated by Brett Egan, students experience the history and culture of Tibet, Angkor Wat, and Beijing through the choreography of Shen Wei.
 

Gospel Across America

Fri, May 21, 2010
11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET
Grades 9-12

    Gospel Across America In a program that celebrates gospel music—from contemporary rising stars to established traditional artists—American gospel artists come together to perform on one stage. The Fisk Jubilee Singers are considered a landmark of Tennessee’s artistic heritage and are instrumental in preserving the musical tradition known today as Negro spirituals. Join the Fisk Jubilee Singers and other gospel artists participating in the Kennedy Center’s Gospel Across America Celebration as they share this rich culture with students during a performance of both contemporary and traditional songs that bring together the past and the present.
 

Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers
Registered educators are permitted to tape each broadcast and use it in your educational institution for the life of the tape. You may duplicate and distribute pages in the study guide among your colleagues and constituents. Programs are intended for the sole use of educators, administrators, and their students, and may not be licensed, distributed, given or sold to any other person or institution without the express permission of the Kennedy Center Education Department. Call (202) 416-8846 for more information.
Broadcast Site License Agreement
Providers (i.e., PBS affiliates, regional media centers, educational networks, cable systems) may rebroadcast each program during the year following the original live broadcast. You must get express permission from the Kennedy Center Education Department to re-broadcast Performing Arts Series programs after one year following the original live broadcast. Call (202) 416-8846 for more information.