Zoe Harr

Praised by The Washington Post for combining “staggering technical prowess, a sense of command, and depth of expression,” pianist George Li possesses brilliant virtuosity and effortless grace far beyond his years. Li joins the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Music Director and Conductor Christopher Zimmerman, at the Center for the Arts on Saturday, April 22 at 8 p.m. for a performance of Rachmaninoff’s immortal Piano Concerto No. 2.

Identified by The Los Angeles Times as “classy, edgy, jaw-dropping and hilarious,” The Passing Zone has been leaving its audiences speechless since its first appearance on national television’s The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1990. The Passing Zone visits the Center for the Arts at George Mason University on Sunday, April 23. Read on to get to know The Passing Zone.

D.C.-area dance enthusiasts are invited to witness talented young dancers perform spectacular works from world-renowned choreographers this spring during the 2023 Mason Dance Company Gala Concert performances.

Founded by D.C.-native, protégé of Debbie Allen, and Emmy® Award-nominated tap dancer and choreographer Chloé Arnold, Syncopated Ladies is reinvigorating the artform of tap, weaving inspiring stories with strong and sensual choreography.

Still tapping our toes, the Center for the Arts looks back on SW!NG OUT's time within the community, George Mason University, and the Center. As an Artist-in-Residence, SW!NG OUT company members engaged with local swing dance groups, area students, Hylton Performing Arts Center’s Veterans and the Arts Initiative, and community members to share the history of swing and Lindy Hop—and get dancing too! After a wonderful collection of community activities, SW!NG OUT concluded its time at George Mason University with its highly anticipated performance at the Center for the Arts on March 19.

Having grown up between Minnesota and Mexico, Lila Downs holds great pride in her expansive heritage of being the child of a Scottish-American father and Mixtec mother. In an interview with Reforma magazine, Downs recalls her mother, a singer as well, giving her advice when she was young, “Lila, canta con sentimiento o no cantes. Lila, sing with feeling or don’t sing at all.”