Music and Dance

Many units offer programs that feature dance performers, from traditional cultural displays to commissioned contemporary works. These events are frequently documented by the sponsoring museum, and can be experienced online. Below is a selection of short blog posts, articles, podcasts, and other resources that can be found across the Smithsonian's online resources on the topic of music and dance. 

Be sure to check out the Smithsonian Music calendar to look for upcoming dance events that you can experience in person!

Articles About Music and Dance

Fandangobon performance A Thousand Things Connected: FandangObon at the Festival
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
dancers Afro-Peruvian Music and Dance
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Yoreme Dance Costume, Circle of Dance exhibition, National Museum of the American Indian Circle of Dance Exhibition
National Museum of the American Indian
Sarawja Dance Sarawja Dance
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Image of dancer, Matailong Du, 2016 Dana Tai Soon Burgess Presents "Margin"
National Portrait Gallery
dancers Out of Many: A Winter Multicultural Festival
National Museum of the American Indian

Collections Sampler

  • A group of women in a garden, entertaining themselves with music and dancing, mid 18th century, Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer
    A Group of Women in a Garden... with Music and Dancing
  • Cuba Libre, from the United Nations Series, 1945, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America
    Cuba Libre, from the United Nations Series
  • Judith Jamison in "Cry," by Max Waldman, 1976, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Carol Greunke, Max Waldman Archives
    Judith Jamison in "Cry"
  • “The Band Played On” Sheet Music. Music by Charles P. Ward, lyrics by John F. Palmer. The Calumet Music Company of Chicago, Illinois. 1936. National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center.
    “The Band Played On” Sheet Music
Explore Collections Related to Dance and Music

Videos

Many Smithsonian performances are recorded and made available on the sponsoring museum or center's website.  Most Smithsonian museums and centers also have their own YouTube channels, where the performances can be viewed and shared. The National Museum of the American Indian in particular hosts frequent performances and festivals featuring Native American performers, and the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival typically includes a large number of dance-inclusive performances related to the festival's chosen theme. 

Header image credit: Fiddler's Green, Victoria Hutson Huntley, 1938, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist

This spotlight was created by Kate Duffus Stein on behalf of Smithsonian Music.