A Clelebration of Martin Luther King Jr. at The Juilliard School, New York City, NY

The Juilliard School's annual Martin Luther King Celebration is truly one of the most creative and inspiring MLK Day events that one can attend in New York City. Juilliard, the renowned performing arts conservatory, turns out some of the world's best musicians, dancers and dramatists. Every year in January, students put on a show honoring Dr. King that incorporates music, dance, and the spoken word into an interdisciplinary masterpiece that focuses on the themes of equality, love, activism, family, and unity.

Unique to this show is the fact that the students themselves write many of the pieces that are performed. In preparation for the concert, groups of students will meet, discuss what the legacy of MLK means to them, and write musical and dance pieces to turn those thoughts and words into performance. Past shows have intertwined together small performance art pieces, the singing of traditional gospel songs, excerpts from MLK's speeches, African traditional music and boot dancing, and classical chamber music. If there is any group of people who can seamlessly integrate so many types of performance into one meaningful show, it is the students at Juilliard. Tickets go quickly for this show, so it is best to contact Juilliard in the fall about getting a seat. Juilliard is located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan next to Lincoln Center.

Points of Interest

The Juilliard School, New York City, NY

Founded in 1905, The Juilliard School started in order for American students to be able to obtain high-quality musical instruction without having to go abroad.