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Music, dance, theatre, and performance art headline the cultural calendars in all of Night+Day’s cool cities. We combed through dozens of annual performing arts festivals worldwide, and here are the best of the best.
Best Performing Arts Festivals in....
Best Performing Arts Festivals
D.C.
Capital Fringe Festival
July; various venues, mostly downtown; 202-737-7232
(tickets 866-811-4111) capfringe.org
The Draw: This unjuried, independent event challenges Washington’s rep as a buttoned-up government town. It appears that 7½ Habits of Highly Effective Mistresses is exactly the kind of entertainment the city has been waiting for. As exhilarating as the avant garde performances is the sight of DCists across the census spectrum all lapping it up. The Scene: Bars, theatres of all sizes and renown, churches, art galleries, and a tent are among the 20 venues for the 120 productions staged over the course of 18 days in July. In the downtown neighborhoods, especially at night, a sense of community builds as theatre-goers gather on sidewalks, then disperse to their next engagements, festival guide in hand. Hot Tip: Now in its third year, the festival has settled into permanent headquarters at 607 New York Ave. NW. This is the place to be on opening night, when the Fringe staff invites the public to their "come and play" party.
Duke Ellington Jazz Fest
June 2009, various venues (but centering on U St. NW), 202-232-3611 dejazzfest.org
The Draw: This is the country’s largest jazz fest, DC’s only, and one of the few that’s citywide, with 100 concerts in diverse settings and neighborhoods. The Scene: For several days and nights, jazz is everywhere in the city, from the Kennedy Center to the National Mall, but with the best stuff centering on historic U St., Ellington’s proving ground. A highlight is “Jazz in the ’Hoods,” which stages performances in Busboys and Poets, the 9:30 Club, Bohemian Caverns, and other hip U St. fixtures. Headliners Taj Mahal and Ramsay Lewis are among the stars. Named for DC’s own Duke Ellington, the festival celebrates the city’s jazz roots. Hot Tip: Next year’s festival moves from early October to the first two weeks in June. The 2009 event marks the festival’s fifth anniversary by celebrating the music of New Orleans, honoring jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis in particular. Branford Marsalis and Terence Blanchard (who scores Spike Lee’s films) will be there; Blanchard will perform his Requiem for Katrina.
Kennedy Center Prelude Festival
Late August to early October;
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,
2700 F St. NW; 202-467-4600 kennedy-center.org
The Draw: A kaleidoscope of quintessential DC characters mixes and mingles throughout the center on any given day, reflecting the incredibly diverse arts on tap. The Scene: The nation’s theatre celebrates artistic diversity in all its forms for 35 days, late August to early October. Dancing under the stars and a showcase of regional talent on Millennium Stage are evergreens. The 2008 theme was “Arts Across America,” and its mind-blowing schedule offered Latin dancing, classical music, spoken-word creations, hip-hop, and jazz; as well as artists from Mos Def to DC’s own Chuck Brown, godfather of the Go-Go scene, to legendary Mississippi Delta blues pianist Pinetop Perkins, performing with Washington’s homegrown legend, the Nighthawks band. Hot Tip: A centerpiece of the festival is the annual open house and its 30 free performances, culminating in a grand slam of dance presentations—step teams to ballet—until the audience gets down and the whole place turns in to a dance party out on the terrace overlooking the Potomac River.
