Photo by Clif Burns.
FRIDAY
DANCE: The Koresh Dance Company performs a “blend of ballet, modern, and jazz” at the Lansburgh Theatre (450 7th St NW). 8:00 p.m. $30. — Elisabeth Grant
FILM: This week, scientists using a telescope stationed at the South Pole observed new evidence of “cosmic inflation,” Alan Guth’s theory of what happened right after the Big Bang. It seems like just a year ago evidence was stacking up against Guth’s ideas. Mark Levinson’s documentary follows six scientists preparing for the launch of the Large Hadron Collider in an attempt to find the Higgs boson, potentially explaining the origin of all matter and asking one of the most basic and complex philosophical questions: why do we exist? Legendary editor Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now, among other classics) was at the editing deck and finds a kind of rhythm in the material, but not enough. The director was a physicist before he was a filmmaker, and that may be why he doesn’t sell the quest as a cinematic story so much as a long-form news report. But this is a must-see for anybody interested in the material. Screens tonight at 7:15 p.m. with Johns Hopkins University Professor, producer, and film subject David Kaplan in person for a q&a at E Street Cinema. — Pat Padua
MUSIC: Little Miss Whiskey’s Golden Dollar (1104 H Street NE) is hosting an after party for the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. show tonight, featuring a DJ set from Nightbird (of U.S. Royalty) at 10 p.m. Free.
SATURDAY
BEER & BOOKS: D.C. expert and self-proclaimed “history dork” Garrett Peck will be at Politics & Prose (5015 Connecticut Avenue NW) Saturday, March 22 at 1 p.m. to chat about Capital Beer: A Heady History of Brewing in Washington, D.C.. – Nicole Dubowitz
FILM The Environmental Film Festival isn’t just about being green. Its programs also observe the urban environment and how humans relate to the streets where they live. Which is where this documentary about New York street photographers comes in. Director Cheryl Dunn interviews shutterbugs both young and old in Everybody Street, and fans of old pros like Elliott Erwitt, Joel Meyerowitz, Bruce Davidson and Mary Ellen Mark, among others, will have to see the film. But it falls short of a must-see. And photographic merits aside, Ricky Powell does not belong in this company. His most famous image is of Basqiat and Andy Warhol—Powell seeks out what he recognizes, which has nothing to do with the street photography approach of discovering something new in the unfamiliar. Otherwise, Dunn has great material to work with, not just in the photographers and their work but in the great subject of New York City. Personalities like Jill Friedman, who heckles New York cops and curses like a sailor, should be more than enough to fill the frame. But the movie never quite comes into focus, the energy of its subjects and, in turn, their subjects coming to life in still photos more than in the main event. Screens at 1 p.m. at the Avalon Theater. — Pat Padua
CHOIR CONCERT: The Thomas Circle Singers are hosting their annual gala concert and silent auction, which feature “laugh out loud compositions like Daniel Pinkham’s ‘The Saints Preserve Us!’ and Eric Whitacre’s ‘Animal Crackers.” Proceeds from the silent auction will benefit the Thomas Circle Singers. Starts at 7 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church (4700 Whitehaven Parkway NW). Tickets here.
BIKES: Take a bike ride through the cherry blossoms before it gets cold again and everything sucks. The ride will go from Old Town Alexandria to D.C. via the Mount Vernon Trail. During the tour, you’ll get an up close view and history lesson of the cherry blossoms. $40, departs at 1 p.m. from Alexandria. Info here.
SUNDAY
FOOD & DRINK: With the arrival of spring, BRABO by Robert Wiedmaier will host a Vernal Equinox Party this Sunday afternoon in their Old Town courtyard. For an all inclusive $50 per person price, they’ll be serving whole roasted Shenandoah Valley lamb, roasted new potatoes, and other fixings paired with Marzen style beer. – Josh Novikoff
FILM: Two aging relatives live quietly in the French countryside in director Dominique Benicheti reticent documentary. Benicheti used the wide compositions of CinemaScope and recorded ambient sounds of farm life to immerse the viewer in a modest way of life. Film Forum called it, “A veritable ode to the beauty of rural France, and the nearly wordless intimacy of a lifelong relationship” I’d never heard of this 1972 film (and there are only 20 ratings for it on the IMDB) so I imagine the National Gallery’s 35mm screening is a rare one indeed. Screens at 4:30 p.m. at the National Gallery of Art. Free. — Pat Padua
COOKBOOK: Learn how to make innovative and traditional Irish dishes with Dublin-born, D.C.-based chef Cathal Armstrong. He’ll be at Politics & Prose talking about his new book, My Irish Table: Recipes From the Homeland and Restaurant Eve at 1 p.m.
