Prelude 2007

Millennium Stage Prelude Series

Millennium Stage performances every day of the year at 6 p.m. on the Millennium Stage.

FREE! No tickets required.

Media Partners: Express

• Thursday, August 30, 2007

  Gesel Mason
  Local Dance Commissioning Project: Gesel Mason presents Whose Body Is This?: Scars and Healing, a multimedia investigation into how people move forward after they’ve been assaulted by illness. Dancers include members of Gesel Mason Performance Projects, Toni Asante Lightfoot, Lucy Bowen McCauley, and Sarah Lowing Scott.
  

• Friday, August 31, 2007

  Gesel Mason
  Local Dance Commissioning Project: Gesel Mason presents Whose Body Is This?: Scars and Healing, a multimedia investigation into how people move forward after they’ve been assaulted by illness. Dancers include members of Gesel Mason Performance Projects, Toni Asante Lightfoot, Lucy Bowen McCauley, and Sarah Lowing Scott.
  

• Saturday, September 1, 2007

  Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
  IN THE FAMILY THEATER
  Woolly Mammoth presents Now What?, written and performed by Josh Lefkowitz. Don’t miss Lefkowitz’s sequel to Help Wanted—fresh new tales of love and artistic struggle in a world that is just plain nuts. Part of the Page-to-Stage Festival.
  

• Sunday, September 2, 2007

  Songwriters’ Association of Washington
  The Songwriters’ Association of Washington presents Fictitious—The Musical, Tom Hyndman’s satirical musical comedy in which Hugh Diffindoffer, a young immigrant from the small country of “Nonexzistia” makes his way through America .His journey leads him to become “The Number One Bodybuilder in the World, “The Number One Box Office Movie Star in the World,” and finally, the “Number One Leader of the Free World.”
  

• Monday, September 3, 2007

  Signature Theatre
  Shirlington, Virginia’s acclaimed theater presents an evening of musical cabaret. Part of the Page-to-Stage Festival.
  

• Tuesday, September 4, 2007

  Washington National Opera "Insights Series"
  The Washington National Opera Insight Lecture Series presents Puccini’s classic La Bohème, following the stories of a circle of young artists who long for a deeper connection to society.
  

• Wednesday, September 5, 2007

  Suzanne Farrell
  IN THE TERRACE THEATER
  This performance will not be broadcast.
  As the Kennedy Center’s Artistic Advisor for Ballet, Suzanne Farrell—in cooperation with the Kennedy Center and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts—presents the premiere screening of a newly restored recording of George Balanchine’s ballet Don Quixote. This historic 1965 production stars Mr. Balanchine as the Don and Ms. Farrell as his Dulcinea.
  

• Thursday, September 6, 2007

  Aysha Upchurch
  Using spoken word, oral narratives, step, tap, and hip hop movement, Aysha Upchurch explores the plight of today’s youth and how children are a product of their environment—family, friends, schools, church, communities, and the media. Part of the Local Dance Commissioning Project.
  

• Friday, September 7, 2007

  Aysha Upchurch
  Using spoken word, oral narratives, step, tap, and hip hop movement, Aysha Upchurch explores the plight of today’s youth and how children are a product of their environment—family, friends, schools, church, communities, and the media. Part of the Local Dance Commissioning Project.
  

• Saturday, September 8, 2007

  Ben Kweller
  IN THE CONCERT HALL
  

  Hear Music artist and multi-instrumentalist Ben Kweller brings his combination of alt-country and indie rock to the Concert Hall, as heard on Sha Sha and On My Way.

  
  

• Sunday, September 9, 2007

  Portland Taiko Ensemble
  Portland Taiko, the only professional taiko company in the Pacific Northwest, weaves rhythm, melody, humor, and movement together into an exhilarating musical experience.
  

• Monday, September 10, 2007

  Richard Miller
  Patrick de Santos
  Richard Miller and Patrick de Santos celebrate Brazilian Independence Day with music inspired by liberty and Brazilian beauty, in addition to popular sambas and bossa nova. In cooperation with the Embassy of Brazil. Part of D.C.’s Duke Ellington Jazz Festival.
  

• Tuesday, September 11, 2007

  Luis Faife Ensemble
  Led by alto saxophonist Faife, the Luis Faife Ensemble and audiences everywhere swing to the band’s bebop music. Part of D.C.’s Duke Ellington Jazz Festival.
  

• Wednesday, September 12, 2007

  Toto la Momposina
  Legendary Colombian vocalist Toto la Momposina brings together the music of three races: indigenous porro, puya, and gaita with Afro-Latin cumbia, mapale, and sexteto. In cooperation with the Embassy of Columbia. Part of D.C.’s Duke Ellington Jazz Festival.
  

• Thursday, September 13, 2007

  Somi
  Somi, a singer/songwriter of East African descent, fuses jazz, classic soul, African folk, and rare urban grooves. She has performed with Roy Hargrove, Amel Larrieux, Lionel Loueke, and Lonnie Plaxico. Part of D.C.’s Duke Ellington Jazz Festival.
  

• Friday, September 14, 2007

  Princess Mhoon Cooper
  Princess Mhoon Cooper explores romantic love and entanglements in Dangerous Liaisons, a new dance work based on the film of the same name. Part of the Local Dance Commissioning Project.
  

• Saturday, September 15, 2007

  Princess Mhoon Cooper
  Princess Mhoon Cooper explores romantic love and entanglements in Dangerous Liaisons, a new dance work based on the film of the same name. Part of the Local Dance Commissioning Project.
  

• Sunday, September 16, 2007

  Chéjere
  Sonex
  Chéjere and Sonex combine two of Mexico’s distinctive regional styles of music, son jarocho and son huasteco, with contemporary Afro-Latin, hip-hop, funk, and electronic sounds. In cooperation with the Mexican Cultural Institute. Part of D.C.’s Duke Ellington Jazz Festival.
  

• Monday, September 17, 2007

  Gilbert Mead: A Celebration
  IN THE CONCERT HALL
  Celebrate the life of Gilbert Mead, one of the most prolific arts philanthropists in Washington who died May 29, 2007. The tribute will feature D.C.-area actors and musicians in an evening of song, dance, and fond memories.
  

• Tuesday, September 18, 2007

  Laïla Barnat
  Sandra Ferrandez
  Soprano Sandra Ferrandez, who was recently named "Spanish Young Hope" by the magazine Opera Actual, performs with classical pianist Laïla Barnat, who studied at the Conservatoire of Pau and the Conservatoire of Bayonne in France, as well as the Higher Conservatory of Music, Musikene, in San Sebastian, Spain.  Presented in cooperation with the Embassy of France.
  

• Wednesday, September 19, 2007

  Jerry Herman
  IN THE TERRACE THEATER
  This performance will not be broadcast.
  Words and Music by Jerry Herman, a 90-minute documentary by Amber Edwards, chronicles the life and career of one of musical theater’s iconic figures. The composer and lyricist of the legendary shows Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage Aux Folles, Jerry Herman is one of the last of Broadway’s Golden Age. Join Jerry Herman for a brief Q&A following the screening.
  

• Thursday, September 20, 2007

  Arturas Bumšteinas
  Ida and Sara Lundén
  Ida Lundén is a frequent keyboard and live-electronics player and performer in the fields of improvised music, avant pop, and other experimental music. Her sister, singer and performance artist Sara Lundén, mixes genres like disco, schlager, chanson, and electro in her own unique way. Arturas Bumšteinas premieres a composition for cellos and laptop written for Sonic Circuits, performed by D.C.-area musicians. Part of D.C.’s Sonic Circuits Festival.
  

• Friday, September 21, 2007

  Joe Thompson
  Octogenarian fiddler Joe Thompson, said to be the last black traditional string band player, exhibits his skills with fellow folk musicians Wayne Martin on fiddle and Bob Carlin, a clawhammer style banjoist.
  

• Saturday, September 22, 2007

  Kiran Ahluwalia
  Trained in classical Indian singing, Indo-Canadian vocalist Kiran Ahluwalia performs the ghazal form and folk songs of Punjab, her family’s home region, accompanied by tabla, guitar, and harmonium.
  

• Sunday, September 23, 2007

  17 Hippies
  Berlin-based ensemble 17 Hippies mixes traditional music from Eastern Europe, France, and America with its members’ own backgrounds, composing songs in German, English, and French. Their make-up includes double bass, banjo, ukulele, guitar, violins, cello, accordion, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone.
  

• Monday, September 24, 2007

  Boys and Girls Club of Washington
  The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington presents Icon 07, in which local youth display their talents on stage, in addition to receiving awards and scholarships for school.
  

• Tuesday, September 25, 2007

  The Lost Bayou Ramblers
  The Lost Bayou Ramblers, a high-energy Louisiana Cajun band who rock their “ribald and rugged” music, are made up of Andre Michot (lap steel & accordion), Louis Michot (fiddle & vocals), Chris Courville (drums), Cavan Carruth (guitar & vocals), and Alan LaFleur (bass).
  

• Wednesday, September 26, 2007

  Michael Aronin
  With his killer sense of humor, comedian Michael Aronin teaches his audiences how to get past personal shortcomings and move forward productively.
  

• Thursday, September 27, 2007

  Sinikka Langeland
  Sinikka Langeland sings and also plays the 39-string concert kantele (Finnish table harp). She intertwines folksong, literature, and Nordic jazz to play songs that focus on the relationship between people and nature as it is expressed in traditional and modern poetry.
  

• Friday, September 28, 2007

  AUN
  Koji Kakinuma
  ON THE SOUTH PLAZA
  The public on sale date for JAPAN! culture + hyperculture is marked by a festive Otsukimi (Japanese moon-viewing) evening featuring a special Millennium Stage performance of “Trancework” and “Eternal Now” by shodo performing artist Koji Kakinuma, accompanied by the taiko group AUN. The event will take place outside under the full moon.
  

• Saturday, September 29, 2007

  Dance DC Festival
  The Kennedy Center co-presents this festival with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
  

• Sunday, September 30, 2007

  Dance DC Festival
  The Kennedy Center co-presents this festival with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.