Pavlina Horakova
11/11/2018 at 6:00 PM

Czech singer Pavlina Horakova and her guests will take you on a musical journey exploring all matters of the heart that have inspired Czech and Slovak music for centuries. Fall in love with Czech and Slovak folk songs, music by Janácek, Dvořák, and Martinu, as well as the rarely performed Figuš-Bystrý and V. Novák.

Presented in collaboration with the Embassy of the Czech Republic.

Czech programming on Millennium Stage is generously supported by The Karel Komárek Family Foundation.

Shaun Neblett: 7 Homages for 7 Emcees—Homage 2: The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
11/10/2018 at 6:00 PM

Shaun Neblett’s 7 Homages for 7 MCs play cycle is a collection of seven original plays that originate from the spirit of classic hip-hop albums. In commemoration of the 30th anniversary celebration ofThe Great Adventures of Slick Rick, Neblett presents his theatrical work that pays tribute to the seminal recording.

IDEA: Meghadoot The Cloud Messenger
11/9/2018 at 6:00 PM

IDEA presents Meghadoot The Cloud Messenger, a swooning lyric poem of just 111 lines written by the immortal poet Kalidasa in ancient Sanskrit. A forlorn lover exiled from home sends a heartbreaking message to his beloved, describing the mountains, rivers, and forests of northern India.

WNO Silent Night Preview
11/8/2018 at 6:00 PM

In commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of the armistice of World War I, this special program, designed and narrated by musicologist and historian Patrick Warfield, explores the subject matter of the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, Silent Night. Depicting the famous Christmas Eve truce on the battlefields of 1914 Europe, Kevin Puts’s and Mark Campbell’s Silent Night has stunned and moved audiences around the globe, and WNO’s production of the opera will play in the Eisenhower Theater from November 10-25. Through extracts from the opera, popular songs of the era, works by composers who gave their lives during the war, and other contemporary artistic reactions to the conflagration, members of WNO’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program will take you on a moving musical journey into this unprecedented period of global upheaval. With gratitude for their sacrifice and service, Washington National Opera presents each production of Silent Night in honor of all Veterans and members of the U.S Armed Forces.

Martin Urbano
11/7/2018 at 6:00 PM

He's young, he's hip, he's Latino, and now he's....at the Kennedy Center!

This program contains mature themes and strong language. It will not be streamed live or archived.

Free general admission tickets will be distributed in the Hall of States starting at approximately 5 p.m., up to two tickets per person.

This show is not available for viewing

Guilhem Desq
11/6/2018 at 6:00 PM

Guilhem Desq breathes new life and innovation into the hurdy gurdy, an old-world instrument. He has an unmistakable sound, electrifying this originally acoustic instrument with traditional European folk, Middle-Eastern music, contemporary rock, Hip Hop, and electro.

Marco Oliveira & Tania Oleiro
11/5/2018 at 6:00 PM

Award-winning Portuguese fado singers Marco Oliveira and Tânia Oleiro make their Washington, D.C. debuts. Their music explores the dualities of human experience in tales that unfold through the winding streets of old Lisbon.

Words, Beats, & Life: Top Notch
11/4/2018 at 6:00 PM

In heated rounds of one-on-one battles, the nation’s most talented b-girls and b-boys will defend their legacies and compete for cash prizes at Hip Hop nonprofit Words Beats & Life’s eighth annual Top Notch competition.

This event takes place from 12-7pm with the preliminary round of Top Notch starting at 2pm! Fine Lines Paint Jam begins at 1p.m.!

Presented in collaboration with the Words Beats & Life Festival.

Words, Beats, & Life: D.C. Youth Poet Laureate
11/3/2018 at 6:00 PM

Hear riveting spoken word performances by this year’s top five D.C. Youth Poet Laureate finalists. Hip Hop nonprofit Words Beats & Life brings together a distinguished panel of adult poets and Hip Hop artists to select the winner for the upcoming 2019 season. The competition is part of a national program organized by Urban Word NYC, and the evening’s winner will represent D.C. by publishing a book and competing for the title of National Youth Poet Laureate.

Presented in collaboration with the Words Beats & Life Festival.

Words, Beats, & Life: Kev Brown & CNN199
11/2/2018 at 6:00 PM

Producer/MC Kev Brown is known in the Hip Hop world as a legend, because after nearly 20 years in the business, his résumé ranks him among the best. A Landover, Maryland native, Brown played an integral part in ushering the Washington, D.C.-area music scene to the masses. CNN199 is a Brussels-based Hip Hop crew of DJs, emcees, and graffiti writers that has been making music for more than 20 years. CNN199 performs, makes murals, and leads workshops for festivals, community centers, and schools in Belgium and Morocco.

Presented in collaboration with the Words Beats & Life Festival.

nuMori
11/1/2018 at 6:00 PM

nuMori is a musical group that creates new (“nu”) music (“mori” meaning rhythms and melodies in Korean) that is inspired by unique rhythms and songs. Using lyrics and melodies reminiscent of traditional Korean music, such as Samulnori (traditional percussion music) and Sinawi (traditional improvisation music), nuMori aims to present a new Korean fusion of music with high-quality performance of their original works, which combine jazz, rock, and blues.

Presented in collaboration with the Korean Cultural Center DC.

The Capitol Bones
10/31/2018 at 6:00 PM

The Capitol Bones, featuring vocalist Christal Rheams, perform a wide variety of music from jazz to rock with a tribute to Aretha Franklin.

Choir ALIAS
10/30/2018 at 6:00 PM

Students and graduates with hearing impairments and hearing students from the Riga Rainis Evening School’s perform concerts and engage in musical activities, including elements of drama and pantomime. Together with their teachers, they create a new form of artistic expression where each musical phrase is followed synchronously by emotional recital to music in sign language, thus setting untraditional interpretations of pieces.


Presented in collaboration with the Embassy of Latvia.

NSO Youth Fellowship Program
10/29/2018 at 6:00 PM

High school students from the National Symphony Orchestra Youth Fellowship Program perform solos on the Millennium Stage. These students study with NSO musicians and are a part of a school-year program designed to prepare them for a 21st-century career in music.

And Then...
10/28/2018 at 6:00 PM

And Then... is a dance and soft circus expressed performance in a polyphonic and imaginary world. Four characters meet to tell and present their story in different ways—objects roll around, things move, and perspectives change through dance, speech, and song. And Then... is a suggestive puzzle, a playful treasure hunt, and a riddle.


Presented as a part of Kids Euro Festival.

The Bentzen Ball Comedy Festival: Melinda Hill
10/27/2018 at 6:00 PM

Melinda Hill is an award-winning comedian, writer, and actress who has worked with many of the greats including Cameron Crowe, Kristen Wiig, Maria Bamford, Sarah Silverman, Nick Swardson, and Robin Williams. LA Weekly says Melinda Hill’s “bubbly, adorable persona belies outlandish comedy” while Laughspin calls her “a wonderfully prolific, whip-smart comedian.” She’s been described as a “dynamic triple threat” who’s “mastered the art of humorous incongruity” with “deceptively demure faux-cluelessness” by Maui Aloha Update, Chicago NewCity Stage, and Las Vegas City Life. Basically, she delivers smart satire on a sparkle rainbow.

This program contains mature themes and strong language.

Free general admission tickets will be distributed in the States Gallery starting at approximately 5:00 p.m., up to two tickets per person.

Presented in partnership with the BYT Benzen Ball.

The Bentzen Ball Comedy Festival: Off Book
10/26/2018 at 6:00 PM

Hosts Zach Reino and Jessica McKenna are also  known as the musical sketch duo The Zach and The Jess. They have written musical sketches for Party Over Here, Buzzfeed, FunnyOrDie, Nickelodeon, and they created and starred in Serious Music, a digital series for ABC. Off Book: The Improvised Musical Podcast on Earwolf has been praised by various online publications including Indie Wire, USA Today, Parade, AV Club, and Splitsider. The podcast has also performed live at Comedy Central’s Clusterfest and SF Sketchfest. Between their podcast and UCB performances, Reino and McKenna sometimes improvise four musicals a week. It’s almost like it’s no big deal to write a musical. Boom! Rodgers and Hammerstein, ya been roasted!

This program contains mature themes and strong language. It will not be streamed live or archived.

Free general admission tickets will be distributed in the States Gallery starting at approximately 5:00 p.m., up to two tickets per person.

Presented in partnership with the BYT Benzen Ball.

This show is not available for viewing

Fran Vielma
10/25/2018 at 6:00 PM

Fran Vielma’s works represent his personal vision of contemporary Venezuelan jazz made in New York City. His esthetic exhibits a small portion of the vast and little-known compendium of traditional musical languages of Venezuela blended with jazz traditions and concert music elements.

This performance has been selected by Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jason Moran.

Kurbasy
10/24/2018 at 6:00 PM

Kurbasy, an ensemble of three vocalists and three instrumentalists, brings tight vocal harmonies, resonant lyrics, and phantasmagoric visual imagery from the Carpathian mountains of Western Ukraine.


Presented in collaboration with Center Stage, a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, produced by the New England Foundation for the Arts.

Maykel Blanco y su Salsa Mayor
10/23/2018 at 6:00 PM

Come and bring your dance shoes to enjoy an unforgettable concert with Maykel Blanco y su Salsa Mayor, one of the top 5 Cuban salsa bands from the Island!