Kennedy Center to Honor Dick Van Dyke, Debbie Allen and Others - The New York Times

Debbie Allen, Joan Baez, Garth Brooks and Midori will also be celebrated with a combination of virtual and small live performances, slated for May.

After Dick Van Dyke got the call informing him that he had been selected as a Kennedy Center honoree, he did exactly what he was told not to do: He called his family to tell them the good news?

Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, include the singer-songwriter and activist Joan Baez; the country music star Garth Brooks; the actress, choreographer and producer Debbie Allen; and the violinist Midori.

Last year, the pandemic scrambled the schedule for the Kennedy Center Honors.

The honorees — selected based on the recommendation of an advisory committee that includes Kennedy Center officials and past award recipients — represent folk, country and classical music, as well as theater and television.

Baez has exhibited her paintings virtually, for example; Allen has taught live dance classes to a virtual audience of more than 35,000; and Van Dyke said that he was delighted to learn from fan mail that some children, home from school, had discovered “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” (“I have a whole new fan club!” he said.).

“It made me realize how precious the moments of being able to do things live are,” she said.

At a time when the country is something of a wasteland for the performing arts, there is a desire for this spring honors program to usher in a kind of rebirth

“As a country, we’re all looking for the light because such a storm is taking over,” Allen said