DANCING THE DREAM and More Set for National Portrait Gallery's Oct 2013 Events

Dancing the Dream

From the late 19th century to today, dance has captured this nation's culture in motion. "Dancing the Dream" includes images of performers like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Savion Glover, George Balanchine, Beyoncé and Isadora Duncan.

This dynamic exhibition will feature Dana Tai Soon Burgess as the Portrait Gallery's artist-in-residence. He will choreograph the original site-inspired piece "Homage" in the galleries. Public rehearsals: Saturdays Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26 and Nov. 2, 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Premiere Performance: Nov. 16, 1:00 and 2:30 p.m.

Lines in Long Array A Civil War Commemoration: Poems and Photographs, Past and Present

This thought-provoking collection of poems and photographs exploring the Civil War and its enduring impact on American culture is now available for purchase. The book features both modern and period poems and photographs to create a powerful conversation between past and present. Read more.

Events and Programs (View the full calendar on our website):

Portrait Story Days | Select Saturdays, 1:00-4:00 p.m., and Sundays 2:00-5:00 p.m. Young visitors and their families may drop in to listen to a story about Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham and other influential people in the museum, and create an artwork inspired by their life and work. Different subjects featured each week. See calendar for details.

Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company | Saturday, Oct. 5, 12, 19, & 26, 11:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Artist-in-Residence Open Rehearsals.
Portrait Discovery Kits | Sundays, Oct. 6, 13, 20, and 27,2:00-5:00 p.m. Check out kits outside the education center.

Young Portrait Explorers: Isadora Duncan | Oct. 7, 10:25 to 11:30 a.m. Toddlers up to age five and their adult companions are invited to explore a portrait or two of Isadora Duncan, listen to a story about Duncan and participate in a hands-on activity. To register: http://www.eventbrite.com/org/810710525. Gather in G Street lobby.

National Portrait Gallery Pop Quiz | Oct. 10, meet in the F Street lobby at 5:30 p.m.; trivia begins in the courtyard at 6:30 pm. Join curator Amy Henderson for a tour of "Dancing the Dream" and possibly some hints before the monthly trivia night begins in the courtyard.

Dance Performance-Premier of Clean Sweep | Friday, Oct. 11, 5:30 p.m. This program is part of the VelocityDC Dance Festival and is co-presented with Dance Metro DC, DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, Shakespeare Theatre Company and Washington Performing Arts Society in the Kogod Courtyard.

Dancing the Dream Family Day: Art on 8th NW | Sunday, Oct. 26, 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard. Join us for a fun-filled family day that includes a tour of the exhibition "Dancing the Dream," dance performances and mini-workshops with local dance studios.

Reel Portraits: West Side Story | Saturday, Oct. 26, 4:00 p.m.Dwight Blocker Bowers, curator of culture and the arts at the National Museum of American History, will introduce the film in the Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium.

Reel Portraits: Busby Berkeley | Sunday, Oct. 27, 1:00 p.m.Biographer Jeffrey Spivak hosts a double-feature of films choreographed by the great Busby Berkeley. Between films, Spivak will sign copies of his biography Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley.

1:00 p.m.: Footlight Parade (1933; 89 minutes)

3:30 p.m.: Gold Diggers of 1933 (1935; 95 mintues)

Courtyard Movie Palace: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari |Thursday, Oct. 31, 7:30 p.m. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, which introduced the idea of a "twist ending" to narrative cinema, is presented by the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum in the Kogod Courtyard.

Special Tours

Author Talks:
Authors discuss their latest work and relate it to pieces and themes in the Portrait Gallery's collection. Talks are followed by book signings.

Jill Lepore, Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin |Thursday, Oct. 3, 7:00 p.m.
McEvoy Auditorium (doors open at 6:30 p.m.)

Stanley Weintraub, Young Mr. Roosevelt | Tuesday, Oct. 22, 4:00 p.m.
Meet at the portrait of Franklin Roosevelt in "America's Presidents" (second floor).

Gallery360: Veronika Adaskova and Lia Cook |Saturday, Oct. 19, 2:00 p.m.
Veronika Adaskova and Lia Cook discuss their works on view in the 2013 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Dorothy Moss, the competition's director and the Portrait Gallery's assistant curator of painting and sculpture, will host this event. Meet at the exhibition entrance on the second floor.

Images: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers by unidentified artist, 1936. Martha Graham by Edward Jean Steichen, 1931. Acquired in memory of Agnes and Eugene Meyer through the generosity of Katherine Graham and the New York Community Trust, The Island Fund. Both: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.