TED Talks Music TED

A self-described "dance floor demon," singer-songwriter Tolliver rocks the house with a performance of "Say What!" and "Nervous."

Some works of art stand the test of time; others don't age as well. Using American musical theater as her case study, theater historian Margaret Hall shares a framework of five categories to talk about how art does (and doesn't) remain useful across generations -- encouraging us to address the "growing pains" that all art faces as time and culture moves on.

Remixing vocals, scat singing and playing the flute and piano, musician Melanie Charles stuns with a performance of two songs.

Singer-songwriter KERA performs the powerful, entrancing song "Bright Future Ahead," leaving us with a profound message: "Breathe, and go again."

By mastering the Eskista, an ancient Ethiopian dance, TED Fellow Melaku Belay survived a childhood on the streets and became a voice for his country. He shares how traditional dances can connect the wisdom of the past to the energy of the future -- and, after the talk, delivers a thrilling performance of Eskista accompanied by a free-jazz ensemble. (In Amharic with consecutive English translation by filmmaker Mehret Mandefro)

Several crises are set to define the next century -- but journalist Aaron Bastani believes we have the technological ability to meet our biggest challenges and create unprecedented levels of prosperity for all. He shows how we could get there by ditching capitalism as the world's economic operating system and adopting "universal basic services," where governments would freely provide life essentials like housing, health care, education and transport. (Followed by Q&A with head of TED Chris Anderson and public finance expert Maja Bosnic)