Airborne DC will perform with Zip Zap Circus USA at the Atlas Performing Arts Center Friday. Photograph courtesy of the Airborne DC website.
Thursday, March 1
THEATER: If you love plays but lose track of whether Mercutio is a Montague 40 minutes in, check out the Best of the Source Festival—the four best ten-minute plays from the past four years for ten bucks. The plays, being performed at Atlas Performing Arts Center, tend to be offbeat, action-packed, and easy to follow. 7:30 PM. Can’t make it tonight? Catch the show tomorrow at 10 PM.
DANCE: You can shake it with the best of them to “Party Rock Anthem,” but are you down with the hand claps and heel tapping of flamenco? Learn as part of DC’s Flamenco Festival 2012 at GW’s Lisner Auditorium. Beginner class starts at 7 PM; if you have some experience, check out the 9 PM class. Tickets ($10) are available through Ticketmaster or at the Lisner box office. 7 to 10 PM.
FILM: If even after the Oscars, you can’t get enough film, check out the DC Independent Film Festival, which kicks off tonight at the US Navy Heritage Center. Tonight at 6:45, talk about film with Les Blank, a documentary filmmaker who recently won the International Documentary Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. (Tickets are $14 online or at the door.) Otherwise, wait till 9:30 for the premiere of A Swingin’ Trio, about a really awkward Valentine’s Day dinner shared by a husband, wife, and, potentially, the wife’s lover. Tickets for this show are $10, available here.
Friday, March 2
DRINKS: In 1836 a territory by the name of Texas won its independence from Mexico, causing the soon-to-be non-independent state to be forever smug. Celebrate “176 years of independence”—besides that whole statehood thing—with $1.76 Lone Star beers all night long at Hill Country Barbecue in Penn Quarter.
MORE DANCING: You learned how to dance yesterday; tonight, head back to Lisner Auditorium to watch as one of the best in the biz, Olga Pericet, make you feel miserable about your new flamenco skills. She combines modern and traditional moves with Spanish classical steps and a beautiful, flowy dress for a jaw-dropping performance. Tickets ($35 to $65) are available through Ticketmaster; for an additional $25, you can include dinner at Jaleo in Bethesda or Crystal City. 8 PM.
Saturday, March 3
CIRCUS ARTS: You may have tried trapeze school, but for the really crazy maneuvers, leave it to the experts. Trapeze and aerial stunts in an intimate setting sounds impossible, but the high-flying performers of Zip Zap Circus USA and Airborne DC will make it work at Atlas Performing Arts Center. Tickets ($25) are available online. 5:30 and 8 PM.
BLOWOUT BASH: You don’t have to be Jewish (or LGBT) to enjoy the Masquerade & Mischief Queer Purim Party at DC’s Jewish Community Center—you get an open bar, dancing cowboys, food, and plenty of music to shake to. Tickets are available in advance for $20 or for $30 at the door. 8:30 PM.
DANCING: If dancing cowboys aren’t your thing but you still want to bust a move, Rock and Roll Hotel is the place to be. Upstairs, Micah Vellian, whose work has been featured on NPR and BCC Radio, spins pop, hip-hop, and indie standards. Head downstairs to hear “pure club bangers, radio anthem hits, and sweaty dance music” from DJ Dunnski. Best of all, there’s no cover for either deejay, and you can cool off on the roof deck. Free. 9:30 PM.
Sunday, March 4
SWEETS: Whether you’re a “chocoholic” or not, you’ve got to admit the sweet stuff is craveworthy. Fairfax celebrates all things chocolate with its annual Chocolate Lovers Festival at Old Town Hall. Confectioners from around the country will bring their best chocolate bars, brownies, syrups, and fudges. Admission is free, and $1 gets you a chocolate trial; most confectioners will have sweets for sale. Noon.
HIP CHECKS: Plenty would say some of our lawmakers are too chummy with lobbyist groups. To build up some animosity, someone is pitting the two sides against each other a game of hockey at the Verizon Center—maybe a hip check or two will finally kill SOPA for good. John Kerry, Mike Quigley, Pat Meehan, and more suit up for the lawmakers’ side, while reps from the Carlyle Group, the Motion Picture Association of America, and the National Confectioners Association (damn you, chocolate lobby) will play for the lobbyists. The $10 suggested donation will support the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and local youth hockey clubs. 1 PM.
