Hello! On Friday, January 18 at 7 p.m. Laurie Halse Anderson, author of the critically acclaimed and bestselling young adult novel Speak, will be at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast celebrating the launch of book’s 20th anniversary edition, which hits shelves on January 15. Laurie will be in-conversation with National Book Award-winning author Elizabeth Acevedo.
Step Afrika! launches its 25th anniversary at the Music Center at Strathmore with a retrospective of the Company’s best-loved works on Sunday, January 20, 2019 at 5 p.m. The performance continues Strathmore’s rich collaboration with Step Afrika!, started in 2014, to celebrate step by showcasing some of the art form’s best 
performers annually on its hallmark Music Center stage. The performance includes selected works from Step Afrika!’s history, including Wade,Passing 25, and Nxt/Stp: Hip Hop. The wide range of work demonstrates the versatility of step, connecting it to hip hop, African American spirituals, and South African traditional and contemporary dance forms. Dem Raider Boyz Step Squad of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Prince George’s County will open the show; the troupe achieved national notoriety on NBC’s reality-competition show World of Dance in 2018. For more information call (301) 581-5100 or visitwww.strathmore.org.
Step Afrika! was founded in 1994 as the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping. It now ranks as one of the top African American dance companies in the United States. The Company blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities, African traditional dance, and influences from a variety of other dance and art forms. Performances traditionally integrate song, storytelling, humor, and audience participation.
In 2019, Step Afrika! will launch its first tour in Ukraine and will return to South Africa in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the historic election of President Nelson Mandela. Step Afrika! has performed at the White House for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, headlining their Presidential Black History Month Reception, and is also featured prominently at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in the world’s first stepping interactive—a video installation where patrons can learn the basics of step straight from Step Afrika! instructors. They also brought a step showcase to New York’s famed theater district for the first time, with a three-week, sold-out engagement at the New Victory Theater.
The National Symphony Orchestra continues its Star Wars series this season with Return of the Jedi, in three performances on Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 7 p.m. and Wednesday and Thursday, January 23 and 24, 2019 at 8 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. NSO Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke leads the Orchestra in John Williams’s memorable score to accompany the film as it’s shown on the big screen above the Orchestra.
Acclaimed Broadway actress and Grammy Award®–winning singer Brandy joins the NSO for her first ever collaboration with an orchestra. Brandy and the NSO, led by Steven Reineke, will explore the unlikely connections between R&B and symphony as she revisits personal favorites from across her own career and from artists and works that have inspired her. Two performances take place: Friday and Saturday, January 25 and 26, 2019 at 8 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall.
The NSO concludes its Star Wars live score series with The Force Awakens(February 21–23, 2019). Other 2018–2019 NSO Pops performances include An Evening with Leslie Odom, Jr. (May 1–3, 2019) and 50 Years Over the Rainbow: A Judy Garland Celebration (June 28–29, 2019).
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets (Star Wars: $34–$149; Brandy: $39–$139) are available at the Kennedy Center Box Office, online at kennedy-center.org, and via phone through Instant Charge, (202) 467-4700; toll-free at (800) 444-1324. For all other ticket-related customer service inquires, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.
The American Pops Orchestra will present An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly, a madcap retelling of the classic children’s story. Acclaimed singer, actress and comedian Hilary Morrow is sure to dazzle as the Old Lady whose appetite for strange objects transforms her quiet afternoon into a wildly spectacular tale! Don’t miss this classic story with a new interpretation written by APO’s most beloved and charming playwright, Broadway’s Claybourne Elder (currently starring in Torch Song on Broadway).
Tickets start at $17 and are available at http://bit.ly/OldLadyAPO.
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019
11:00 a.m.— Noon
WHERE: Arena Stage
Molly Smith Study
1101 6th St., SW
Washington, D.C.
APO, led by Maestro Luke Frazier, disrupts the status quo of traditional pops programming by bringing original, cutting edge productions focused on quality, fun and community engagement for the entire family
To launch an inaugural collaboration between City Winery and Supreme Core Cider, the two brands will host Ivy City’s “Resolution Breakers Ball” on Saturday, January 26 – a ticketed tour of each facility followed by two indulgent winter staples – cider and mac ‘n cheese. The $25 ticket is valid from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and includes shuttle transportation between the venues, as well as:
- 3 cider tastings
- 1 cider cocktail
- 3 wine tastings
- 2 bowls of mac ‘n cheese
- Live music
Attendees will also be entered to win Supreme Core Cider swag with a 4-pack of cans, and a pair of tickets to a show at City Winery. Tickets to the “Resolution Breakers Ball” can be purchased online at www.resolutionbreakersball.eventbrite.com.
On Thursday, Jan. 31, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden will partner with the French Embassy and the Judy and Peter Blum-Kovler Foundation to present the first Washington, D.C., edition of the Night of Ideas, a global marathon of ideas that will activate La Maison Française with talks and performances by today’s leading thinkers and creators, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019, 6:30 p.m.–12 midnight.
In addition to renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as keynote speaker, speakers include including art critic, curator and Marcel Duchamp expert Bernard Marcadé; French philosopher Manon Garcia; artificial intelligence specialist Eric Gaussier; Senegalese economist and writer Felwine Sarr; author and national correspondent for The Atlantic Franklin Foer; privacy and public policy expert Dipayan Ghosh; the George Washington University Debate & Literary Society; and Smithsonian Year of Music co-curator Huib Schippers.
Dynamic performances from French visual artist Frédéric Nauczyciel and American voguing performer Marquis Revlon’s Marching Band Baltimore Project will punctuate the beginning and end of the event. The night will also include an interactive poetry performance by Les Souffleurs commandos poétiques, an instrumental interpretation of paintings into music by violinist David Schulman and a spoken word presentation by poet Charity Blackwell. Guests will also enjoy pop-up art activations and in-gallery DJ performances throughout the night.
The event is free and open to all.
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THE MAGIC OF ADAM TRENT
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2019 AT 8:00 PM
Direct from Broadway – “the next big thing in magic…a genius headed straight to stardom” (Huffington Post). One of the original stars of the Broadway hit The Illusionists has teamed up with that show’s producers to present an illusion show with a scale and mass appeal not seen since the touring days of David Copperfield. Returning to his roots as a solo performer, breakout star Adam Trent brings his signature brand of magic and illusion to a spectacle featuring hits from the Broadway show along with never before seen material. THE ILLUSIONISTS PRESENT THE MAGIC OF ADAM TRENT is animmersive entertainment extravaganza of magic, comedy, and music perfect for the entire family. “Seeing is disbelieving” – The New York Times.
LOCATION
The National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.
Metro: Metro Center, Federal Triangle
For directions and parking information, visit thenationaldc.org/directions-parking/.
Juliet Eilperin, the Senior National Affairs Correspondent for The Washington Post has been chosen by the Environmental Film Festival (DCEFF) for their inaugural “Excellence in Journalism” award. Eilperin, a DC native, and author of two books, has worked at The Washington Post’s national desk for 20 years, covering the White House, Congress and a host of domestic and international policies. Her work has often centered on environmental issues.
“We are pleased to honor Juliet and to present her with our first ever Excellence in Journalism Award,” said, Christopher Head, the Executive Director of the Environmental Film Festival. “The theme of the this year’s festival is “The Fierce Urgency of Now” and Juliet Eilperin’s excellent journalism has helped to pave the way for understanding what’s at stake and what our government is or isn’t doing at this moment of environmental crisis.”
The Annual benefit will take place on February 7, 2019 at the Austrian Embassy (3524 International Court, NW) and will be hosted by Ambassador H.E. Doctor Wolfgang Waldner.
“Austria is strongly committed to environmental protection and sustainable energy,” said Ambassador Wolfgang Waldner. “We are very honored to host this year’s Environmental Film Festival Benefit Reception at the Austrian Embassy.”
Many of the benefit’s co-chairs, host committee and honorary host committee will be on hand for the evening and the Austrian Cultural Forum will also be a presenter. The DCEFF will run from March 14-24, 2019 and will present more than 120 films from around the globe. Tickets for the reception can be purchased here.
The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital (DCEFF) is the world’s premier showcase of environmentally themed films. Since 1993, our mission has been to celebrate Earth and inspire understanding and stewardship of the environment through the power of film. Each March in Washington, D.C., we host the largest environmental film festival in the world, presenting 100+ films to audiences of more than 20,000 and collaborating with over 110 partners, including museums, embassies, universities, and theaters. The festival is one of the leading annual cultural events in Washington, D.C., winning the 2017 DC Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Creative Industries.
