Collection

5 Noteworthy Aspen Ideas Performances

5 Sessions 6 Speakers
How does ballet strengthen the mind along with the body? Can Yo-Yo Ma help sixth graders learn earth science? How do the personal and political transform when they come together in performance? The below clips, which feature dance, music, and art pieces performed at the Aspen Ideas Festival, are tantalizing parts of whole sessions that explore how the arts can heal, educate, and empower. Watch a clip or two and gain a deeper appreciation for how performance art shapes the individual and society.

Jookin' to Bach

Memphis Jookin’ dancer and 2014 Harman-Eisner Artist in Residence Charles “Lil Buck” Riley ended a discussion about the intersectionality of 21st century dance with a showcase of his work, but it was a highlight of a whole hour of beautiful performance and insightful conversation:

The Whole Person: Ballet's Mind/Body Connection

World-renowned choreographer Alonzo King, and four artists from his international touring company, demonstrate “what the body is” and how ideas can be communicated through physical language. They offer new insights into artistic obsession and the emphasis on the mind and the heart dancing the bodily instrument.

The Personal and the Political

For more than three decades, artist Carrie Mae Weems has created a body of work — including photographs, fabric, text, audio, and video — that probes the fault lines of race, gender, class, politics, and power. In this clip, the Prix de Rome and MacArthur Fellowship winner stages a collaborative performance of her work:

Learning to Learn Through Dance and Music

Arts Strike is a dialogue between artists, schools and communities first piloted by Yo-Yo Ma and Damian Woetzel in 2010. Watch a demonstration from the Aspen Ideas Festival that highlights the unique power of the arts to educate and engage our children:

The Symphony and the Street

What possibilities unfurl when a symphony reaches Skid Row? How does music create healing on a street corner? Los Angeles Philharmonic violinist Vijay Gupta and internationally renowned soprano Camille Zamora are expanding access to classical music through their organizations Street Symphony and Sing for Hope, which bring music out of symphony halls and into the spaces of underserved communities:

Thank you for signing up!

Please provide a valid email address.

Please provide a valid email address.
aerial 2019 campus
Newsletter
Sign up to receive the latest news from Aspen Ideas.