I spent last night at the Kennedy Center and it was definitely ranks up there with one of the coolest things I have done in DC. Thanks to Maggie and her co-worker with the mad connections, I was invited to the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Millennium Stage. Most of you have seen a performance at the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, but for those who don't know about it - the Millennium Stage holds free performances every night at 6pm. Last night they celebrated 4,000 performances.
First up, a trip to the Target Lounge. Target is a huge sponsor of the Millennium Stage so they decked out a room on the terrace level of the Kennedy Center in everything Target - it was pretty crazy! They had 2 chocolate fountains, an entire table full of red and white candy with ice cream cones as plates and pomegranate champagne. It was a great start to the night.
The first performance was the National Symphony Orchestra. I have seen them play before, but not in this setting - they were pretty impressive. Oh, and the co-workers friend who got us the tickets is the President of the Kennedy Center, so we were sitting in his box... yes - very cool.
Next up, the amazing Alvin Ailey American Dance Company. Truly amazing! I could have stayed there all night watching them. Not only did we have the best seats in the house (again in the president's box) but the dancing and choreography was just amazing. The company has performances the next week at the Kennedy Center. I am definitely going back! I can't even describe it. This performance was Revelations and each dance was a story set to great gospel music. Don't take my word for how good it is though - check it out yourself here.
Finally we headed to the Opera House for a performance by Sufjan Stevens. Now at this point, it was a bit late and I still wasn't feeling well, but after running into a friend who said he waited out in the cold for 4 hours to get tickets to the show, I started getting excited. This show must be amazing. Apparently I have been hiding under a rock b/c I have never heard of Sufjan Stevens. He seems to have a cult-like following though. His music is very indie-rock and usually his performances are a bit out there. Today he was dressed in a suit and tie and not wearing butterfly wings. He was also accompanied by the Kennedy Center's Opera House Orchestra so his sound might have been a bit different. I loved most of his songs, the accompaniment and how he utilized all instruments on stage. However, I still think I was missing something. There would be times during the performance that every instrument, from the guitar and piano down to the violins and flutes, would make the worst noise it could manage to the point that I started getting a headache. It wasn't what I had anticipated from a show where people waited overnight in the cold for tickets. For the most part though, it was a great show.
The night was truly great. Box seats for amazing performances at the nation's theater. Not sure how we can top this one!
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Kristin - you must have been sitting in Michael Kaiser's box. He's the founder of my company - Kaiser Associates. Odd that he started in Management Consulting and went on to run the KC, but it's true!
I wish he'd send the hook-up our way at some point!
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