One day in 1971, a New York City social worker Peggy Shaw stumbled upon a drag queen singing a blues song by a lamppost, and Peggy knew she was destined to become a performer. Read more...

Not all representations of South Asian culture include Madonna with colorful bindis on her forehead or Heather Graham in a sari running around with an Indian immigrant who is posing as a guru. Read more...

Pushing traditional boundaries often yields unexpected results, and in some cases, an extraordinary amount of success. Over the last four years, West African dance company Salia ni Seydou has been invited to perform in over 70 cities around the world from Taipei to Paris and New York City. Read more...

Picture a half-naked man, wrapped in only a loin cloth while he plays an 800 pound drum alone on the stage of Royce Hall. This act, along with another piece in which players drum while sitting on the floor in a half sit-up position for about 10 minutes, is a piece by Kodo, a taiko drum group from Japan’s Sado Island that launched its One Earth Tour in California this month. Read more...

Doing his own stunts for years, Jackie Chan has dislocated his cheekbone, pelvis and shoulder. He’s also broken his nose, his head, teeth and ankle. “The ankle always comes out,” Chan said. Read more...

“Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk” Ahmanson Theater, through Feb. 15 (213) 628-6772 A word like “tap” cannot possibly begin to describe it. What tap dance marvel Savion Glover does with his feet is at once furious and beautiful. Read more...

Skeptics say that our generation hasn’t made many significant contributions to the American lexicon. I beg to differ. From 1989 to 1993, Zack, Kelly, Slater, Lisa, Screech and Jessie ruled Saturday mornings. Read more...