Carnival of the Animals is a new evening-length piece by spoken word artist and activist Marc Bamuthi Joseph (VP/Artistic Director of The Kennedy Center), legendary dancer Wendy Whelan (Associate Artistic Director, New York City Ballet), and acclaimed choreographer/director Francesca Harper (Artistic Director, Ailey II).

Rooted in the iconic Saint-Saëns composition dating back to 1886, this contemporary vision comes to life with poignant spoken word and transcendent movement, creating a multidisciplinary mixtape that imagines the animals that reside in our country’s contemporary political jungle. Carnival of the Animals launches from the Saint-Saëns work, and imagines the animals within a present day ecosystem that intersects the personal, the political, and the environmental with humans living in dangerous times, imbuing democracy itself with the animal instinct to survive.