Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Wendy Whelan

Spoken word artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph and dancer Wendy Whelan discuss their remarkable new hybrid performance piece “Carnival of the Animals”, which addresses, among other things, the siege of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, through the lens of Camille Saint-Saens’ 1886 musical composition.  

Marc Bamuthi Joseph conceived and wrote the piece, and performs the spoken word portions, and Wendy Whelan performs the dance portions, which are choreographed by Francesca Harper.  

Marc Bamuthi Joseph is the vice president and artistic director for social impact of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.  He was formerly chief of programs and pedagogy at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.  Wendy Whelan is a longtime dancer and now the associate artistic director with New York City Ballet.  They have performed “Carnival of the Animals” in several locations around the US, and will bring the production to New York City in March 2025. 

On October 28, 2024, Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Wendy Whelan spoke with critic and author Steven Winn at the studios of KQED in San Francisco.