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Performers Profile	Ballet Folklorico Garifuna (Honduras) Yair Dalal (Israel) Naser Musa (Jordan/Palestine) Kook Soo Ho Didim (Korea) Kevin Locke (Sioux) Misia (Portugal) Tehreema Mitha (Pakistan) Youssou N'Dour (Senegal) National Dance Institute (USA) National Song and Dance Company of Mozambique (Mozambique) Rustavi (Georgia) Jean Paul Samputu (Rwanda) Shaolin Temple (China) Holly Stell (USA) Omar Faruk Tekbilek (Turkey) Young People's Chorus (USA)

	Ballet Folklorico Garifuna (Honduras) Ballet Nacional Folklorico Garifuna, consisting of Afro-Hondurans, represents the unique Garifuna culture of Honduras as well as a variety of music styles that interweave the religious and folkloric characteristics of Honduran culture. Since its creation in 1976 Ballet Nacional Folklorico Garifuna is fulfilling the task of promoting the distinctive Garifuna culture of Honduras by contributing ethno-artistic work at the national and international level. Today the members of Ballet Nacional Folklorico Garifuna hold the unique status of "cultural ambassadors" of Honduras.

	Yair Dalal (Israel) Composer, violinist and an outstanding Oud player who is known as the most prolific Israeli musician today, Yair is one of a handful of artists who preserves and contains the ancient Babylonian musical heritages. Yair's musical ensemble is comprised of colleagues belonging to different ethnic backgrounds, together offering a rich multicultural atmosphere on one stage. Among his special performances, the Nobel Peace Prize gala concert in 1994, a Peace tour in Germany and Switzerland with Palestinian and Israeli musicians, and a Shalom-Salaam concert to mark the anniversary of the Oslo Agreement in 1994. Yair has devoted much of his time and energy to helping remove ideological barriers between musicians - particularly between Jews and Arabs. According to reviewers, if music could heal the division and conflict in the Middle East, certainly Yair's music has the energy to make it happen.

	Naser Musa (Jordan/Palestine) Naser Musa is regarded as one of the pioneers who introduced the Oud and Arabic music to the US Community. He is a Jordanian, Palestinian by descent, who has been living in the United States since 1982. Musa holds a degree in Music from California Polytechnic University. Since 1988, he has also been serving as a featured teacher at Middle Eastern Music and Dance Camp in California. Musa is a regular performer at concerts and festivals, often performing in collaboration with many other prominent ethnomusicologists from around the world. The beautiful and unforgettable sounds of Oud in Mel Gibson's widely watched movie: "The Passion of Christ", is one of his recent beautiful and unforgettable contributions. His extensive, collaborative musical projects with Arab, Persian, Spanish and American musicians, are examples of successful harmonizing and synthesizing of eastern and western traditions and remind us of the "beauty of diversity".

	Kook Soo Ho Didim (Korea) Kook Soo Ho is a legend in South Korea and his troupe is regarded as the most famous cultural troupe to establish Korea's culture abroad by offering a stunning presentation of traditional Korean drumming. The drummers'ability to delicately resemble the harmony and purity of age-old Korean traditions while fulfilling the historical task of music (i.e. to shed oneself of fear and doubts, encourage life, and cultivate a strong spirit) is a phenomenal spectacle to experience. In 1988 at the Seoul Olympics, the performance of the drummers of Didim Dance Company transcended the barriers of geographic distance by touching the hearts and souls of people across the globe - without need of a common language.

	Kevin Locke (Sioux) Kevin Locke (Tokeya Inajin is his Lakota name, meaning "The First to Arise") is known throughout the world as a visionary hoop dancer, the preeminent player of the indigenous Northern Plains flute, a traditional storyteller, cultural ambassador, and recording artist. In order to create vibrant, global civilizations that embrace individual and collective heritages, Kevin draws on the deep wellsprings of generational knowledge to yield a sense of the universality of the human spirit and its inclination toward harmony, balance, peace through dance, sound and music. In 1990 he was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts.

	Misia (Portugal) With a remarkable ability to offer the ultimate essence of Fado, a musical style intrinsically connected to Portugal's heritage, Misia carries one of Portugal's most important national symbols internationally by serving as an ambassador of Fado. Capturing the melancholy, sadness and spirituality of the Fado style, most of Misia's songs are inspired by well-renowned Portuguese songwriter, Carlos Peredes. Misia's albums are recognized as innovative mixtures of traditional and contemporary music that renew and enrich the tradition with new lyrical styles that integrate verses from poets of the past. When combined with the moving melodies and art of presentation, Misia quickly proves why she has become an essential figure in the international music scene today.

	Tehreema Mitha (Pakistan) Artistic director and Choreographer Tehreema Mitha was born in Pakistan and is the founder of the Tehreema Mitha Dance Company based in Washington D.C. Tehreema established her dance company with the vision of creating a world where the social presence of diverse generations can be brought forth and communicated through classical Bharatanatyam dance. Believing dance and music transcends all borders as a universal language, Mitha is actively committed to the production of dance and music that reflects the diversity of a multicultural society, while preserving the traditional sub-continental heritages.

	Youssou N'Dour (Senegal) Youssou N'Dour is one of the most celebrated African musicians in history and an internationally renowned singer, songwriter and composer. In Senegal, he is considered as a powerful cultural icon actively engaged in addressing social issues. His remarkable contributions include organizing a concert for the liberation of Nelson Mandela, performing in the Jubilee Concert 2000 consecrated by the Pope for third world debt relief, and writing/performing the anthem for the 1998 Word Cup. His latest album called "Egypt" is regarded as a call for tolerance and an effort to bridge the cultural gaps between Islam and the West. Youssou N'Dour has also served as a United Nations Good Will Ambassador and UNICEF Ambassador.

	National Dance Institute (USA) NDI was established with the belief that the arts have a unique power to engage children and motivate them towards excellence. Since its inception, NDI has inspired millions of children crossing many social, ethnic and economic boundaries. NDI fosters a love of the arts, a pride of achievement and a curiosity about the world among children. NDI utilizes the arts to contribute to personality development, discipline, and training to look at different aspects of life with a more humane perspective. In 2003, NDI was awarded the prestigious "Coming up Taller" award that recognizes and supports outstanding community arts and humanities programs that celebrate the creativity of America's young people.

	National Song & Dance Co. (Mozambique) In 1979, four years after Mozambique won its independence from Portugal, a group of young artists joined to form a dance troupe in Mozambique's capital city of Maputo. In 1983, the group was renamed Companhia Nacioal Canto e Danca, its major goals being to collect, preserve, and value, through public performance, the expressive art forms of the various peoples of Mozambique. The company, comprised of performers from the country's ten provinces, is known throughout Mozambique for its outstanding contribution to the promotion of national culture.

	Rustavi Choir (Georgia) Georgian polyphonic singing is proclaimed by UNESCO as one of the oldest Oral and Intangible Masterpieces of Humanity under threat today. Responding to that threat, the Rustavi Choir aims to preserve and reproduce these ancient folk songs. Musical folklore is a much-valued treasure of Georgian culture. The choir was founded with the vision of breaking the ethnic boundaries of regional styles while performing ethnographically authentic music from all of Georgia. The choir has taken part in more than 3000 concerts around the world and has performed at worlds'most famous venues such as Olympic stadium (Greece) and the Royal Festival Hall (U.K.).

	Jean Paul Samputu (Rwanda) Jean Paul Samputu is a tireless worker for peace and reconciliation and a unique musical ambassador for the Rwandan people. Samputu has devoted his life to bringing healing and unity to the country through music. Samputu holds a reputation as an eloquent speaker on the Rwandan genocide and a HIV/AIDS educator who has committed his life to HIV/AIDS victims. In 2003 he was nominated for the African Kora Awards and also won the best African Traditional Artist and Most Promising Male Artist awards.

	Shaolin Temple (China) The Shaolin Temple in China (Song Mountain) offers a unique combination of traditional meditation and more than 1500 year old martial art forms. According to the Shaolin Temple, martial arts is a way of enriching one's life by building physical strength and cultivating a strong mind to deal with the stress of modern living. International branches now teach the meditation and martial arts practiced in the Shaolin Monastery on Song Mountain. The Chinese performers appearing at the WCO Ceremony will also perform at the Kennedy Center this autumn.

	Holly Stell (USA) Holly Stell is a twelve-year-old soprano from Northern California. In 2003, she was a soloist for the President of the United States'Pageant of Peace Christmas Tree Lighting, which was aried live around the world on C-SPAN. She was also featured on the A&E special "Holidays at the White House" hosted by Susan Lucci. Holly also recorded a duet with one of the world's greatest voices - Andrea Bocelli. Holly works closely with "Kids with a Cause," a nonprofit organization emphasizing the importance and value of ��children helping children.'

	Omar Faruk Tekbilek (Turkey) Omar Faruk Tekbelik, considered a master of the Turkish Ney (bamboo flute), is a songwriter, composer, and international performer. He is regarded as a pioneer who brought Middle Eastern sounds to the West. Faruk's masterpiece album ALIF means "love supreme" and is a phenomenal illustration of three aspects of love: divine love, romantic love and love of life. For decades Faruk's music has served as a forum where cultures can transcend political boundaries and peacefully co-exist while maintaining their traditional cultural sensibilities.

	Young People's Chorus (USA) The Young People's Chorus of New York City was founded in 1988 by Francisco J. Nunez with the conviction of offering an opportunity to urban children belonging to different racial, economic and religious backgrounds to work together. By bringing children and young people from all the corners to the world's largest cosmopolitan city, New York, Nunez wishes to break the narrow barriers that divide communities and help the youth realize how much they have in common. Among its notable achievements that aptly explain the talent and the dedication of these youth: the Gold Medal at the 2004 Choir Olympics in Germany and a Prize Winner at Festival International de Musica de Canonigros, Spain 2003.