ARTSEDGE: The Kennedy Center's Arts Education Network: Multimedia Library

Tabou Combo: Haitian Kompa

"Rhythm is the essence of Tabou Combo," says Tabou Combo's co-founder Herman Nau. The infectious rhythm of Haiti's national dance music, Konpa (con-pah), has propelled the country's preeminent dance band around the world. By the time Tabou Combo's 12 members left Haiti and relocated to New York City in 1971, they had already established themselves as Haiti's number one group and Ambassadors of Konpa. Tabou Combo now has worldwide fans and followers from Europe, Asia, South America, throughout the Caribbean, and in North America. It is easy to understand why Tabou Combo's relentless and high-energy style of Konpa knows no language barrier.

Tadao Ando: Four Cubes to Contemplate Our Environment

Tadao Ando: Four Cubes to Contemplate Our Environment

The world-renowned architect Tadao Ando presents this world-premiere glass installation, which explores sustainability and the environment. It was constructed on-site specifically for the Kennedy Center Festival of Japan in 2008.

Tambuco Percussion

Among the finest percussion quartets today, the musicians of the three-time Grammy-nominated ensemble refuse to be tied down to one style, with a repertoire ranging from structuralist percussion music to a wide range of ethnic drum music and avante garde sound interpretation.

Teater Garasi in Chicago

Indonesian actors visit with members of the Chicago-based theater companies The Civilians, Silk Road Theatre Project, and Redmoon Theatre

Terra Cotta Warriors

The Terra Cotta Warriors are a collection of 8,000 statues that were buried over 2,000 years ago in the tomb of China's first emperor Qin Shi Huang. Three of the statues - two soldiers and a horse - were sent to the Kennedy Center for display during the Festival of China.

Texas Blues: Marcia Ball

Texas blues originated in the early 1900s alongside the sweat and tears of Blacks working on oilfields, lumber camps, and ranches. After a day of back-breaking labor, workers could unwind in nearby bars or on their own porches and listen to blues musicians who spoke to their own experiences.

Texas Troubadour: Nanci Griffith

Backed by a tradition of independent spirit and grounded in multicultural roots, Texas singer-songwriters continue to imbue classic musical genres with new experiences and sounds.

Theater Conversations

The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, in association with The Dramatists Guild, presents conversations from their two-week playwriting intensive at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.