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See an interactive display of photographs from early years of the Folklife Festival and our 50th anniversary.
Husband and wife Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell started the troupe in 2006. Their house, tucked away among the trees, is half living space and half composing space.
Kiran Singh Sirah is no stranger to the many mispronunciations of his name. In fact, he enjoys hearing the innumerable iterations of “Kiran,” a Sanskrit name that translates to “light from the sun” or “ray of sunshine.”
Many ancient cultures tell tales of why the sun shines during the day and the moon at night. In some stories the sun and the moon are siblings, in others they are lovers.
Shadow puppetry, like many ancient performance arts, is traditionally used to tell folk stories, literary tales, or religious epics.
“I always thought I would go home,” storyteller Noa Baum said one rainy morning over hot chocolate and cappuccino. “I never planned or imagined I would stay in America.”
This story was filmed at the Center during a 2012 “Call My Name” quilting workshop conducted by The NAMES Project Foundation.
Joni L. Jones (Olorisa Omi Osun Olomo) of Austin, Texas, performs a narrative in honor of a storyteller who had recently fallen ill.