Motion Expression Concert: The heArt of Hip Hop
Joy of Motion Dance Center
Join Joy of Motion Dance Center as we celebrate dance with the bi-annual Motion Expressions Concert, The heART of Hip Hop! This concert will feature performances by Resident Adult Dance Company DCypher Dance as well as Life, Rhythm, Move Project and other special guests!
THIS IS A FREE SHOW. For tickets inquiries please email
Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival
Creating Connection Through Innovative Art
Bold. Provocative. Dynamic.
The festival presents intersections of music, theatre, dance, film and spoken word that offer new ways to see ourselves and to celebrate our community and our world.
All five Atlas performance spaces will be alive with world premieres and innovative collaborations among artists of all ages, races, cultures and art forms.
From Family Saturdays featuring performances and events for children to late-night parties and jazz jam sessions, INTERSECTIONS seeks to connect the broadest possible audience with the most exciting new ways of making community-inspiring art.
The festival features performances from Furia Flamenca, Great Noise Ensemble, Vijay Iyer and Mike Ladd, Dissonance Dance Theater and Nistha Raj, with Aakash Mittal, Christylez Bacon and Debu Nayak.
Click here for tickets and full schedule.
Holding It Down: The Veterans’ Dreams Project
Conceived and created by Vijay Iyer and Mike Ladd
Directed by Patricia McGregor
“epic in scope, yet poignant in its emotional nuance… a seamless and deeply moving journey.” -Sequenza 21
Holding It Down: The Veterans’ Dreams Project unites jazz composer/ pianist sensation Vijay Iyer and spoken word phenomenon Mike Ladd with veteran/ poet Maurice Decaul and more. This innovative concert sheds musical and poetic light on what it means for American soldiers of color to return home from war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Friday, March 8 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, March 9 at 2:00 & 8:00 pm
Tickets: $15 – $38
Get Tickets to Holding It Down: The Veterans’ Dreams Project
Performed by
Vijay Iyer piano, laptop, compositions
Mike Ladd poetry, vocals, analog synthesizer
Maurice Decaul poetry
Lynn Hill poetry
Guillermo E. Brown vocals, electronics
Latasha N. Nevada Diggs vocals, electronics
Liberty Ellman guitar
Okkyung Lee cello
Kassa Overall percussion
Video Design by Tim Brown
Lighting by Alan Edwards
Scenic Design by Dede Ayite
Assistant Video Designer Katherine Akiko Day
Performance is approximately 90 minutes without intermission
Harlem Stage is the Commissioner of Holding It Down: The Veterans’ Dreams Project, through its WaterWorks program. The world premiere was at The Harlem Stage Gatehouse Sep. 19-22, 2012. WaterWorks is supported by Time Warner and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Holding it Down was produced by Harlem Stage, in association with Music + Art Management, Inc. and Multiplicity Musics, LLC.
Project management and representation Music + Art: Steve Cohen and Lauren Snelling
www.musicandart.net
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
THEATRE
Marc Bamuthi Joseph/The Living Word Project
red, black & GREEN: a blues (rbGb)
May 10 – 12, 2013
red, black & GREEN: a blues (rbGb) is a full-length, multimedia performance work that jumpstarts a conversation about environmental justice, social ecology and collective responsibility in the climate change era centered on communities that are often left out of the discussions of about “living green.”
Friday, May 10 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, May 11 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, May 12 at 3:00 pm
Get Tickets to red, black & GREEN: a blues (rbGb).
JAZZ
Luciana Souza Duo
May 11, 2013
Grammy winner Luciana Souza’s singing has been called “transcendental” and “perfect.” As one of jazz’s leading singers, she has gone beyond traditional musical styles bridging the boundaries of jazz, world music, classical and new music. Her longstanding work with Brazilian guitarist Romero Lubambo has earned her accolades across the globe.
This tour engagement of Luciana Souza is funded through Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s Jazz Touring Network program with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. www.midatlanticarts.org
Get Tickets to Luciana Souza Duo.
NEW MUSIC
Maya Beiser and Michael Harrison: Time Loops
Maya Beiser, cello
Michael Harrison, piano
May 10, 2013
Cellist Maya Beiser, hailed by The Washington Post as the “hot young diva of avant-garde cello,” returns to DC to perform music from her latest album, Time Loops, a collaboration with composer/pianist Michael Harrison on Cantaloupe Music.Time Loops include the mystical minimalist music of Arvo Pärt alongside Harrison’s evocative Ragas and his epic multi-cellos piece, Just Ancient Loops — a piece that unveils every aspect of the cello, from its most glorious and mysterious harmonics to earthy, rhythmic pizzicatos.
Get Tickets to Maya Beiser & Michael Harrison
Annie Jr. by J.O. Wilson Elementary
In the tradition of elementary school dramatic productions everywhere, school plays works best when they involve the whole community. This year, J.O. Wilson Elementary students will be presenting their adaptation of “Annie the musical” during the month of May. For the first time, J.O. Wilson Elementary will present the performances outside of the school as well as host a community night showcase. The special evening performance for the community is scheduled for Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 6 p.m.
Admission is free but seats are limited. Tickets are NOT available online. Please call the Box Office to reserve tickets. 202.399.7003 ext 2
Helen Hayes Recommended at the ATLAS
The Atlas Performing Arts Center would like to congratulate Rorschach Theatre and Theater of the First Amendment for being Helen Hayes Recommended.
Rorschach Theatre
After the Quake
By Haruki Murakami
Adapted for the stage by Frank Galati
Directed by Randy Baker
In the aftermath of a terrible earthquake, a writer fueled by heartbreak heals a broken little girl, while a menacing frog saves Tokyo from an enormous worm. Adapted from the short stories of Haruki Murakami, Galati’s play brings to life Murakami’s “hallucinatory world where the real and surreal merge and overlap, where dreams and real-life nightmares are impossible to tell apart”. (New York Times)
For tickets to After the Quake, click here.
Theater of the First Amendment
Can’t Scare Me: The Story of Mother Jones
A TFA World Premiere written and performed by Kaiulani Lee
“Mark Twain says that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme,”
according to Mother Jones, as brought to life by OBIE Award-winner
Kaiulani Lee in this brave new work about the formative days of the
American labor movement. Called “the most dangerous woman in America,”
Mother Jones “educated, agitated, and organized” on behalf of child
laborers, coal miners, steel workers, and all working people. Through
an artful blend of history, biography, and a liberal dose of Mother
Jones’s famous wit, “Can’t Scare Me” brings out some urgent “rhymes” of
yesterday and today in a riveting, passionate, and fiery solo performance.
For tickets to Can’t Scare Me: The Story of Mother Jones, click here.
American Voices/Global Songs
American Youth Chorus
Our diverse ensemble of talented young people will perform an eclectic array of songs from many different time periods and corners of the globe. Join us as we travel around the world with witty 16th century French chansons and folksongs from Inner Mongolia. American works range from the 19th music of Stephen Foster to the late 20th century settings of African American spirituals and edgy 21st century works. The evening will put a smile on your face and a song in your heart.
Summer Film Series
Gay 101: Thursdays at 8pm. June 23 – September 1
Movie Musicals: Fridays at 8pm. June 24 -September 2
Family Series: Saturdays at 5pm. July 2 – September 3
Spike Lee Presents: Sundays at 4pm. July 3 -September 4
All Film Series Tickets are FREE ($2 booking fee)
Gay 101 Thursdays 8pm
September 1 Brokeback Mountain
Musicals Fridays 8pm
September 2 Grease
Family Series Saturdays 5pm
September 3 The Goonies
Spike Lee Presents Sundays 4pm
September 4 She’s Gotta Have It
Worldwide Sneaker Extravaganza
Anywhere Anytime Destinations & CinderBlock Foundation
Come buy, sell, or trade all types of sneakers,snapbacks and custom handbags. “LET’S MAKE A DEAL”
The Tale of Despereaux & Fundraiser for the DC Center for Independent Living
Join the Atlas and the DC Center for Independent Living for The Tale of Despereaux and a kids dance party with a DJ. The movie will begin at 5:00 PM and the party will follow.
Movie tickets are free with a $2 reservation fee.
Tickets for the dance party can be purchased at the door for $10. Parents and children under 2 are free! All proceeds benefit the DC Center for Independent Living.
For more information about the event, click here.
Comedy on H: Ari Shaffir
PLEASE NOTE: SATURDAY’S AUGUST 27- 8PM PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER AS A RESULT OF HURRICANE IRENE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE ATLAS BOX OFFICE AT 202.399.7993 EXT. 2.
Comedy on H presents Ari Shaffir live at the Atlas
Stand-up comedian and actor, Ari Shaffir, describes his comedy as a puppet show, but much filthier and without the puppets. He has been a featured comedian on the HBO comedy series “Down and Dirty” with Jim Norton. Shaffir’s satirical shorts, “The Amazing Racist”, for National Lampoon went viral with millions of views. He has appeared on TBS’s “Conan”, and Comedy Central’s “Jon Benjamin Has A Van”. Additionally, he has been seen in dozens of national commercials, and he frequently tours with Joe Rogan. Shaffir, a Silver Spring native, currently resides in Los Angeles where he is a regular at The Comedy Store.
Local comedians Adrian Rodney and Lafayette Wright will open and MC the evening.
Fresh Flavas 2011: New Play Reading Festival
African Continuum Theatre Company
The Contract
Monday, September 12 at 7:30 pm
Written by James Webb
Directed by Otis Ramsey-Zöe
Dramaturgy by Sybil Roberts and J.E. Lawton
Playwright James Webb explores the controversial complexities and intersections of religion and homosexuality within the Black Church. Rather than divorce her husband and publicly destroy
his reputation after his indiscretion, Deborah, a high profile preacher’s wife, chooses to save her marriage by taking control of the situation. Through this telling of this “tale,” audiences
explore the great divide between Gay and God and are asked to consider why the two can’t coexist, particularly within the Black Church.
The Rest of Me
Monday, September 19 at 7:30pm
Written by Eugene Lee
Directed by Shirley Basfield Dunlap
Dramaturgy by Sybil Roberts and J.E. Lawton
“The human body wasn’t built to be lonely. God knew that. That’s why Adam got Eve.” Or so speaks one of the lonely characters seeking truth and companionship in this new play about the lies we live in and denials we believe and live with that keep us alive. Amos Huckleberry (aka “Texas Tuxedo and his Tales) gets at the truth about the daughter he buried under all his tales. On the eve of her retirement from a distinguished career as one of the first Black female Texas Rangers, Willie Mae Beaudreaux solves one of her most troubling outstanding cases and confronts some hard truths about herself when she is brought face to face with her long estranged twin brother.
Will Vinson Quartet
Jazz at the Atlas
Tickets on sale now!
Will Vinson (alto saxophone)
Mike Moreno (guitar)
Matt Penman (bass)
Rodney Green (drums)
www.willvinson.com
Alto saxophonist and composer Will Vinson makes his Washington debut in the inaugural season of Jazz at the Atlas. Described by All About Jazz as “spirited and uplifting… a leading force on his instrument,” Vinson’s dramatic jazz interpretations have garnered respect from his colleagues and audiences in the USA, UK, Italy, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands. Originally from London, Vinson has performed with artists including Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Jonathan Kreisberg, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Marcus Gilmore, Mark Turner, Chris Potter, Geoffrey Keezer, Lage Lund, Ari Hoenig, John Benitez, Madeleine Peyroux and Seamus Blake, just to name a few. Vinson has also toured and performed with Rufus Wainwright, Sean Lennon, Beth Orton and Harper Simon.
DC Shorts Film Festival
DC Shorts Film Festival comes back to the Atlas. This eleven-day festival runs throughout the city September 8-18. The final weekend’s events will be held at the Atlas September 16-18. Free daily films will be shown on September 17 & 18 at noon. The closing party will be held September 17. Check back soon for screening times and tickets.
www.dcshorts.com