Center Stage

Transcend borders. Build understanding. Embrace diversity.

Center Stage is among the most successful programs to bring contemporary international performing artists into direct contact with people across a wide range of U.S. communities, and to share these experiences globally.

Center Stage is a public diplomacy initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts, with general management by Lisa Booth Management, Inc.

Since 2012, the program has welcomed 29 music, dance, and theater ensembles from nine nations into our national cultural dialogue,  enlarging our world, and sharing diverse, global perspectives directly with communities in the U.S., and via real time virtual interactions, with fans and allies abroad.

For its fifth edition, Center Stage, will host five contemporary ensembles from Colombia and Perú in the U.S. Musicians and multimedia artists will make independent month-long tours across the country from July-November 2021, promoting global ties and engaging with audiences on stage, off stage, and online. Each will make their U.S. debut with the program.  

• Chontadelia (Colombia): Steered by a marimba master and former member of ChocQuibTown, Chontadelia melds funk and psychedelic rock, and contemporary issues into the rich world of chonta and other Afro-Colombian styles of the Colombian coast. 
• Diana Burco (Colombia): Vocal chameleon and Latin GRAMMY nominee weaves regional Colombian music and global contemporary sensibilities together with a feminist outlook, elegant songwriting, and a nimble, soulful accordion. 
• Fílmico (Perú): Merging documentary research, personal herstory, moving image, and live performance, Fílmico’s multimedia production “El apellido comienza conmigo/The last name starts with me” explores the raw intersection of family lore, political corruption, and resolute justice amid chaotic and arbitrary circumstances. (In Spanish, with supertitles) 
• Hit La Rosa (Perú): Darlings of Lima’s indie scene turn cumbia into a phantasmagoric world that embraces the Peruvian highlands’ rhythms (huayno) and Amazonian psychedelia, with a bold surf-punk streak.  
• Lundú (Perú): With its disarming acoustic performances, Lundú’s original compositions, instrumentation, and arrangements of folk standards respond to their environment, complex Afro-Peruvian and Andean roots, and the historic beauty of their hometown, Arequipa. 

Keep up with Center Stage on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and at www.centerstageUS.org.

Presenters, community organizations, and venues interested in partnering with Center Stage are encouraged to contact Lisa Booth & Deirdre Valente at Lisa Booth Management, Inc. Tel +1-212-921-2114 artslbmi@msn.com. For general program information, please contact Adrienne Petrillo, Program Director, +1-617-423-1178 apetrillo@nefa.org.