Lian Xiaoyin is a performer with the Leishan Miao Music and Dance Group and a student of the ancient art of batik dyeing.

During one of the “Songs of Struggle” discussion sessions at the 2014 Smithsonian Folklife Festival’s Kenya program, musicians Peter Akwabi and John Nzenze performed a song that Nzenze originally wrote in 1963

The Inner Mongolian ensemble Ih Tsetsn won over crowds at the 2014 Smithsonian Folklife Festival with their complex harmonies and high-energy music. Here, they perform a traditional song of worship, or song ge, praising the land and nature.

In a 2014 Smithsonian Folklife Festival workshop, Kenyan musicians Makadem, Justo and Joseck Asikoye, and Singing Wells project advisor Bill Odidi discussed music as a controversial form of socio-political expression and communication.

The mysterious art of bian lian or face-changing originated in Sichuan Opera, and has long been a closely guarded secret of Chinese performers.

During the 2014 Folklife Festival, international tai chi champion Chai Yunlong of the Beijing Sports University performed martial arts demonstrations and led daily sessions for visitors to learn the basics of the Chen style of tai chi.

Through sublime rhymes, poet Pages Matam paid tribute to his Cameroonian mother on Diaspora Day at the 2014 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

The Ramogi Dancers, from Homa Bay County, are part of the Luo community in Western Kenya.

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is an interactive festival where audience members engage directly with visiting artists to learn about their music, crafts, cooking, and more.

Poet G Yamazawa throws down some powerful rhymes on Diaspora Day at the 2014 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.