Carnaval del Corazón: It's Getting Hot Inside July 2, 2008

Patssi Valdez's The Magic Room

Upstairs at SAAM you can visit the exhibition The Honor of Your Company Is Requested: President Lincoln's Inaugural Ball and you can see how well you waltz, thanks to handy dance diagrams that are right on the floor. And when you've perfected your waltz, come downstairs and try some moves that would have turned heads during the Lincoln ball.

Summer at SAAM is bound to heat up this week as we kick off Carnaval del Corazón, or Carnival of the Heart. This Thursday evening, July 3 from 5 to 8 p.m., join us in the skylit Kogod Courtyard for salsa demonstrations and dancing, accompanied by irresistible music from Puerto Rico and Cuba.

Carnaval del Corazón is a series of programs spread out in summer and early fall. The first Thursday of the month (July 3, August 7, and September 4) is a Latin-jazz inspired event with a great Latin-jazz band as well as a featured dance with demonstrations and instruction. This month is salsa, next month it's tango, and September is flamenco and rumba. By October you'll be able to step out with the best of them.

Come and show off your moves at SAAM and make Lincoln proud! (And, while you're at it, upload some dancing pics to SAAM's flickr group!)

• Abraham Lincoln, Latin Jazz, Patssi Valdez, Smithsonian American Art Museum