at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC – NO RSVP REQUIRED
Celebrate the holiday season with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Embassy of Italy, and the Italian Cultural Institute! Enjoy seasonal music and costumed performers that embody Italian culture, and make festive arts and crafts you can keep for yourself or give to your loved ones.
The Festival will feature performances by:
Simona Rodano, “The Italian Fairy”
Francesca Carli and Enrico Giovagnoli of OperaPop
Dancers from The Washington Ballet performing the short dance “White,” choreographed by Mimmo Miccolis and featuring original songs by Francesco Germini
Caterina Scotti and Ruben Manenti, stilt walkers from Bergamo’s Teatro Tascabile, performing “the Blue Queen”
Zampogna (Italian bagpipe) players performing traditional Italian holiday songs
Visitors are also invited to make ornaments and mosaic holiday cards at craft stations by Casa Italiana, and to enjoy a photo op station, face painting, and a meet-and-greet with author Shannon Jones, who will sign copies of her book KeeKee’s Big Adventures in Rome, Italy.
IN COLLABORATION WITH
with the support of Ferrero
MORE INFO
Smithsonian American Art Museum page: HERE
LOCATION
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Kogod Courtyard
8th and F Streets, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004
MORE INFO
DANCE ON STILTS
Back from their tournée in China, the artists from Bergamo’s Teatro Tascabile engage in The Blue Queen, a Christmas dance on stilts where old and new Christmas traditions meet. Two mysterious dignitaries come from afar: they have white and impassive faces. They move slowly, as if lulled by the music of fluttering snowflakes. Are they the Three Wise Men who came from parts unknown? The children wait and then run to collect their gifts. And then suddenly their faces seem to come to life on the sweet notes of an ancient melody, a playful dance announcing a never ending festivity.
PREVIEW (via YouTube)
MORE INFO: http://www.teatrotascabile.org/index_en.php
ZAMPOGNA PLAYERS
Traditional Christmas songs played with folkloristic pipes typical of Central and Southern Italy
PREVIEW (via YouTube)
MORE INFO: http://www.bagpipesfao.com
ITALIAN FAIRY
Native Italian artist and award-winning Italian language educator Simona Rodano also known as The Italian Fairy introduces children and their families to the beauty of the Italian language and culture through her language-through-music and movement program. Learn Italian in few minutes with The Italian Fairy!
PREVIEW (via YouTube)
MORE INFO: http://www.italianfairy.com
OPERA POP
Francesca Carli, soprano, and Enrico Giovagnoli, tenor, merge the language of pop music with their experience of opera in a fusion of great vocal skill and stage presence that leads to a spectacular performance.
PREVIEW (via YouTube)
MORE INFO: http://www.operapop.it
WHITE
A captivating dance performance by the Washington Ballet, choreographed by Mimmo Miccolis, centered on the purifying and cathartic effect of the color white. The show will feature original songs by Francesco Germini.
WHITE … it is like when in a snowy day you look through the window and admire what you have in front of your eyes; everything moves slowly and looks light, clean, firm, immaculate. You can hear your breath and your heart beats.
Newton proved that the white was formed by the combination of other colors. In fact, the white light creates a rainbow with a full range of colors as it passes through a prism of glass. In the same way, White is the color that today can give peace to the different colors in the world.
PREVIEW (via VIMEO)
CREDITS:
Concept and Choreography: Mimmo Miccolis
Original Music: Francesco Germini
Dancers:
Gustavo Ribeiro
Federico D’Ortenzi
Stefan Pichler Goncalvez
George Cardozo
Nardia Boodoo
Nina Barcelos Fernandez
Sarah Reimond
Wendy Guo
Ao Wang
Yuki Nakahara
Anastasia Markova
Photos: Morgan Marinoni
IN COLLABORATION WITH
MORE INFO:
http://www.mimmomiccolis.com
http://www.maestrogermini.com
CRAFT and OTHER ACTIVITIES
Paper quilling: designs made from curled paper strips. It is an art form that originated in Italy and France during the Renaissance (nuns and monks used it to decorate books)
“Mosaic” Greeting cards using small bits of paper, foil, and foam in a “mosaic” style
Christmas Tree Photo Op
Casa Italiana craft station: Christmas decorations with Italian landscapes
Face Painting
Scavenger Hunt (find the Italian work of art!)
Information Table, giveaways
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