Family Amphitheater Performances

Free to Be

Inspired by the Skirball summer exhibitions’ messages of freedom and authenticity, these interactive performances are designed to delight visitors of all ages. This year’s eclectic lineup features music, dance, and storytelling that celebrate the diversity of performing arts that makes Los Angeles so unique.

Performances are every Saturday and Sunday from July 6 through August 18. Check back for more details soon!

Schedule: BODYTRAFFIC (Saturday, July 6), CONTRA-TIEMPO (Sunday, July 7), Hip Hop Fundamentals (Saturday, July 13), Story Pirates* (Sunday, July 14), Rick Huddle* (Saturday, July 20), Las Colibrí (Sunday, July 21), Rhythm Child (Saturday, July 27), STC Foundation (Sunday, July 28), Zingarella (Saturday, August 3), Victoria Burnett* (Sunday, August 4), California Feetwarmers (Saturday, August 10), Aaron Nigel Smith (Sunday, August 11), Nathalia and Friends (Saturday, August 17), Syncopated Ladies (Sunday, August 18).

*Note: An ASL interpreter will be present at this performance.

BODYTRAFFIC
Saturday, July 6, 12:00 and 2:00 pm

Included with Museum admission

Be inspired by this internationally recognized contemporary dance troupe, named “the company of the future” by The Joyce Theater Foundation.
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CONTRA-TIEMPO
Sunday, July 7, 12:00 and 2:00 pm

Included with Museum admission

Expand your imagination with this bold, multilingual Los Angeles-based dance company creating physically intense and politically astute performance work. Founded by Artistic Director Ana Maria Alvarez, CONTRA-TIEMPO creates a new physical, visual, and sonic vocabulary that collages salsa, Afro-Cuban, hip-hop, and contemporary dance with theater, compelling text, and original music to bring dynamic multimodal experiences to the concert stage.
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Hip Hop Fundamentals
Saturday, July 13, 12:00 and 2:00 pm

Included with Museum admission

Get down with Hip Hop Fundamentals, an award-winning team of diverse professional breakdancers dedicated to hip-hop education Driven to inspire audiences and participants of all ages,
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Story Pirates
Sunday, July 14, 12:00 and 2:00 pm

Included with Museum admission

Hailed as "crazy entertaining" by The Daily Show's Jon Stewart, the Story Pirates will keep you doubled over laughing with their Greatest Hits Show, a hilarious sketch comedy musical.
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Rick Huddle
Saturday, July 20, 12:00 and 2:00 pm

Included with Museum admission

Parents and children, laugh, sing, and play your way to a deeper understanding of each other with Open Up & Say HA!, a storytelling, audience participation, and music performance by Rick Huddle.
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Las Colibrí
Sunday, July 21, 12:00 and 2:00 pm

Included with Museum admission

With their warm vocal harmonies and unique musical arrangements, this all-female string ensemble brings a contemporary twist to traditional mariachi music.
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Rhythm Child
Saturday, July 27, 12:00 and 2:00 pm

Included with Museum admission

In an energizing blend of soul, reggae, and ska, Rhythm Child reinterpret classics and perform an array of new, uplifting, and educational songs to engage the whole family.
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STC Foundation
Sunday, July 28, 12:00 and 2:00 pm

Included with Museum admission

This performance will feature dancers of all ages—some as young as five!—and will take the audience on a journey through the stunning and beautiful history of Chinese culture, all while encouraging self-confidence and positivity among the viewers. STC Foundation was established to promote the appreciation of Asian arts and culture and enrich the community.
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Zingarella
Saturday, August 3, 12:00 and 2:00 pm

Included with Museum admission

Janice & Melinda—founding members of LA-based bands Mostly Kosher and Sugar Rum Tantrum—return to the Skirball as Zingarella following their raucous performance at the Skirball’s Hanukkah Festival last winter. Their summer amphitheater show will be a troubadour-inspired journey of street fiddle and stompy accordion folk that is fueled by a mix of protest song, klezmer, and high-energy gypsy-blues. Filled with costume and instrument changes and plenty of turns in the road, their show tells the tale of two traveling vagabonds in a cross-country expedition from high art to low art.
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Victoria Burnett
Saturday, August 4, 12:00 and 2:00 pm

Included with Museum admission

The Washington DC–born, SoCal-based storyteller and vocalist Victoria Burnett fuses stories and music to capture the imaginations of each audience member by way of folktales, tall tales, African American tales, multicultural stories from different countries, personal stories, and what she calls "WHOOPERS.”
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California Feetwarmers
Saturday, August 10, 12:00 and 2:00 pm

Included with Museum admission

Big Band meets Dixieland in the California Feetwarmers, a boisterous eight-piece ensemble who pay homage to New Orleans music of the ’20s.
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Aaron Nigel Smith
Sunday, August 11, 12:00 and 2:00 pm

Included with Museum admission

Don’t miss this collection of lively, original reggae tunes, along with Jamaican and African folk songs performed by Aaron Nigel Smith.
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Nathalia and Friends
Saturday, August 17, 12:00 and 2:00 pm

Included with Museum admission

Nathalia and Friends invite families to move and groove to an eclectic mix of bilingual sing-alongs, ranging in style from rock and cumbia to jazz and reggaeton.
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Syncopated Ladies
Sunday, August 18, 12:00 and 2:00 pm

Included with Museum admission

Close out the season with the all-female tap dance band Syncopated Ladies. Founded by Emmy Award–nominated tap dancer and choreographer Chloe Arnold, the group has been praised by megastar Beyoncé for their tap dance tribute to her hit song “Formation.”
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