Russian Influences on Music and Dance in America

In order to get in a little exercise and take a break from my desk, I've gotten in to the habit of taking a brisk walk along the hallways of the Library of Congress Madison Building where I work. Every once in awhile I stumble across new exhibits, or people of stature. And so was the case recently when I noticed several interactive screens in the Lobby. Upon closer inspection, the subject matter was all things Russian - specifically, the stories and visual films about dance, Russian music translated into American popular culture, and Russian music in America. My brother has a PhD in Russian, and our last name translated into English is Johnson. I took Russian for less than a week in college and learned how to write my first name, then quickly switched back to French. But I was always intrigued by the stories and films about this wonderful place. I rarely crossed paths with anything of significance when I took walks in Milwaukee. You could say that's a great reason to live and work in DC.