The Program Offers Free, Family-Friendly Entertainment at the Outdoor W.M Keck Ampitheatre at Walt Disney Concert Hall

The Music Center of Los Angeles County celebrates the sixth season of the highly acclaimed World City performance series featuring internationally renowned artists sharing their culture through dance, music, song and storytelling. Performances are free to the public and take place on select Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., with the exception of the Vietnamese Water Puppets performances that will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In addition, free art-making workshops for children are offered in the adjacent Blue Ribbon garden.

World City opens its sixth season on September 20 with A Celebration of Armenian Arts!, featuring Winds of Passion, Sarkis Petrosyan, Araks, and Zvarnots Dance Ensemble. The series continues on October 11 with Los Llaneros and Ballet Folclórico do Brasil showcasing the sights and sounds of Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. Additional performers include Kevin Locke Native Dance Ensemble, Chen Kuai Le Puppet Theater, Diane Ferlatte and Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir, Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre and Életfa, Le Vent du Nord and Circo Comedia, and the Vietnamese Water Puppets.

2008-09 World City Performers (PDF)

Offering an impressive roster of international and national touring artists, as well as acclaimed local artists, each month a particular culture is featured through the performances of one or more companies. "Many of the performers we present inherit their techniques through generations, passed down orally by elders and masters." says Barbara Leonard, Artistic Director for Education at the Music Center. "World City's artists have one foot in the past and one foot in the future, integrating ancient cultural traditions into contemporary work."

The post-event art workshops offer attendees a chance to participate in the creative process with simple, hands-on art activities focused on the cultural theme of that day. "World City invites families to experience the many cultures of Los Angeles, opening a window on global arts traditions and celebrating our diverse community," notes Leonard.

World City is presented at the W.M. Keck Foundation Children's Amphitheatre at Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown Los Angeles. Tickets for each performance are distributed starting at 10 a.m. on the day of the event.

Support for World City is provided by grants from the Julia Stearns Dockweiler Foundation, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and the Peter and Merle Mullin Endowment Fund.

For more information about World City, call 213-972-4396 or visit musiccenter.org.