Weekend Round Up January 26, 2017

**’The Rhythmic Imagination in African Music’**
JANUARY 26TH, 2017 AT 07:00 PM | FREE WITH RSVP | TEL: 202-707-5000 | [EVENT WEBSITE](https://www.loc.gov/concerts/authortalk-africanmusic.html)

Kofi Agawu, professor of music at Princeton University, will speak about his new book, “The African Imagination in Music,” with a special focus on chapter four, “The Rhythmic Imagination in African Music.”

Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. SE

**Opulence Revealed Cognac Tasting**
JANUARY 27TH, 2017 AT 05:30 PM | 59 | IRICCHIEVENTS@GMAIL.COM | TEL: 202-835-0459 | [EVENT WEBSITE](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/opulence-revealed-exquisite-remy-martin-cognac-tasting-tickets-30886673873)
In Washington, D.C., the Opulence Revealed Rémy Martin experience is only available at i Ricchi. Participants will learn to appreciate the finer points of cognac and explore their senses of touch, taste and smell in this two-hour experience. After a welcome cocktail and hors d’oeuvres, guests will be ushered to another closed room where they will be overwhelmed by a unique sensory cognac experience. Two sessions: 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Ristorante i Ricchi 1220 19th St. NW

**’Hemingway in Earnest’**
JANUARY 27TH, 2017 AT 07:00 PM | FREE WITH RSVP | TEL: 202-549-4172 | [EVENT WEBSITE](http://www.hillcenterdc.org/event/penfaulkner-hill-center-present-hemingway-in-earnest/)

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation, Shakespeare Theatre Company and Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital are hosting an evening retrospective of Hemingway’s writing. With readings from local writers, scholars and performers, “Hemingway in Earnest” will take a good, hard look at “Papa’s” most powerful, challenging and problematic texts. In preparation for the Elevator Repair Service’s late-winter production of “The Select (The Sun Also Rises),” authors will reflect on their relationship with Hemingway and actors will bring his words to life.

Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE

**John Cleese Live**
JANUARY 27TH, 2017 AT 08:00 PM | $55 TO $250 | TEL: 301-581-5100 | [EVENT WEBSITE](https://www.strathmore.org/events-and-tickets/john-cleese-holy-grail)

Living legend John Cleese — a man who is truly comedy royalty — hosts a live and truly unforgettable evening of conversation and audience Q&A (absurd and ridiculous questions only, please). Before Cleese silly-walks his way onto the stage, you will have the opportunity to watch cult classic “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” in its entirety on the big screen.

Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, Maryland

**Chinese New Year Festival**
JANUARY 28TH, 2017 AT 11:30 AM | FREE | [EVENT WEBSITE](http://americanart.si.edu/calendar/event.cfm?trumbaEmbed=eventid%3D121225696%26view%3Devent%26-childview%3D%26returnUrl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Famericanart.si.edu%252Fcalendar%252F)

The Smithsonian American Art Museum opens its doors to the Chinatown and D.C. community for the 2017 Lunar New Year, the Year of the Rooster. There will be a variety of activities and demonstrations throughout the day, including: traditional paper cutting, bristle dolls, dough sculpting, a display of painting the inside of snuff bottles by Beijing Folk Artists, calligraphy demonstrations with the Confucius Institute at George Washington University, mask coloring and New Year’s card making with the Confucius Institute at George Mason University, an art scavenger hunt, red paper lantern making, coloring and rooster crafts.

Smithsonian American Art Museum, 8th and G Streets NW

**Architecture and History of the White House**
JANUARY 28TH, 2017 AT 01:00 PM | $20 | TEL: 202-347-9403 | [EVENT WEBSITE](http://www.aiadc.com/event/architecture-and-history-white-house)

Children aged 8 to 12 will explore the history and architecture of the White House during this Saturday afternoon workshop. They will learn about the major renovation periods of the building, engage in a physical timeline activity and build their own model of the front portico to take home. Each child will also take home a booklet with the timeline, photos from renovations, a list of fun rooms in the White House and some blank pages on which to draw their ideas.

District Architecture Center, 421 7th St. NW

**’Complete Dogness’**
JANUARY 28TH, 2017 AT 03:00 PM | $10 | TEL: 703-933-1111 | [EVENT WEBSITE](http://www.janefranklin.com)

A performance for children is inspired by an adorable family pet with bad habits but with the willingness to learn new tricks. Look for good fun in this story of doggy enlightenment, with media by artist Boris Willis.

Theatre on the Run, 3700 South Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington, Virginia

**Mario Batali on Regional American Cooking**
JANUARY 28TH, 2017 AT 03:00 PM | $25 AND $35 | TEL: 202-633-3030 | [EVENT WEBSITE](https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/reserve.aspx?ID=236262)

Best known for his innovative Italian cuisine, chef Mario Batali headed into new territory to prepare his latest cookbook: all corners of America. In a conversation with Joe Yonan, food and dining editor of the Washington Post, he discusses what the dishes served at state fairs, church socials, BBQ joints and family dinners reveal about our country’s food culture and traditions.

Baird Auditorium, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW

**NSO: A Salute to Slava**
JANUARY 28TH, 2017 AT 08:00 PM | $15 TO $89 | TEL: 202-467-4600 | [EVENT WEBSITE](https://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/event/NRCSH)

In a celebration of the artistic legacy of late former National Symphony Orchestra Music Director Mstislav Rostropovich, Christoph Eschenbach conducts Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 8 in C Minor” and Gidon Kremer in Mieczysław Weinberg’s 1959 “Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in G Minor,” both celebrated works by Slava’s dear friends. Also Thursday 1/26 at 7 p.m. and Friday 1/27 at 8 p.m.

Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW

**James ‘Blood’ Ulmer**
JANUARY 28TH, 2017 AT 08:00 PM | $30 AND $40 | TEL: 301-581-5100 | [EVENT WEBSITE](https://www.ampbystrathmore.com/live-shows/james-blood-ulmer)
A true original, James “Blood” Ulmer is celebrated as a blues guitarist who draws upon the full spectrum of African American music. He began his career playing in funk bands before settling in New York City, where he first collaborated with Ornette Coleman. In the decades since, he has explored free jazz, soul, bebop, avant-garde and rock. Rolling Stone called Blood “the most original guitarist since Jimi Hendrix, and his guitar chops are even more stunning when paired with his rich, baritone vocals and powerful lyrics.

AMP by Strathmore, 11810 Grand Park Ave., Suite 400, North Bethesda, Maryland

**Pilobolus: ‘Shadowland’**
JANUARY 29TH, 2017 AT 02:00 PM | $35 TO $45 | TEL: 202-785-9727 | [EVENT WEBSITE](https://lisner.gwu.edu/pilobolus-shadowland-0)

Washington Performing Arts and CityDance co-present the body- and mind-bending dance troupe Pilobolus, performing the D.C. premiere of “Shadowland,” an evening-length piece following the dreamlike world of a young girl. Equal parts dramatic and comedic, “Shadowland” incorporates moving screens, projected images and front-of-screen choreography, all set to a rhythmic original score by American film composer David Poe. Also Saturday 1/28 at 8 p.m.

GW Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW

**Final Performance: ‘Copenhagen’**
JANUARY 29TH, 2017 AT 07:30 PM | $27 TO $67 | TEL: 202-777-3210 | [EVENT WEBSITE](http://washingtondcjcc.org/center-for-arts/theater-j/on-stage/16-17-season/copenhagen/?spektrix_bounce=true)

In 1941, German physicist Werner Heisenberg traveled to Copenhagen to meet his Danish counterpart, Niels Bohr. Old friends and colleagues, now they find themselves on opposite sides in a world war and embroiled in a race to create the atom bomb. Why Heisenberg went to Copenhagen, and what he wanted to say to Bohr, are questions that have intrigued and divided historians and scientists ever since. Michael Frayn’s Tony Award-winning play about this historic meeting is an intellectually dazzling and deeply moving meditation on friendship and moral responsibility. Also Thursday 1/26 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday 1/28 at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday 1/29 at 2 p.m., followed by a conversation, “Nazi Antisemitism and the Scientific Brain Drain,” at 4:30 p.m.

Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW