The Kennedy Center Announces Millennium Stage Schedule for September 2022 Featuring National Dance Day & More

Millennium Stage, now in its 25th season, is a manifestation of the Kennedy Center's mission and vision to welcome all to celebrate everyone's collective cultural heritage in the most inclusive and accessible way possible. Millennium Stage offers a free film and programming, streamed live, Wednesday-Saturday each week.

September will include events celebrating National Dance Day-across three days-including an exploration of the Black experience through the music of Nina Simone, soul singer Danielle Ponder, and a story telling event with the Peace Corps which compliments the public opening of the JFK Special Exhibition in celebration of the Kennedy Center's 50th Anniversary. The month also includes the Extraordinary Cinema, a curated Sunday matinee film series featuring the best in Independent art films, cult classics, and documentaries, plus two international masterpieces, Billy Elliot (2000) and Parasite (2019). Millennium Stage will also host experimental multi-instrumentalist, indie rock artist Anand Wilder in a performance of his most recent album Yeasayer.

For schedule updates and reservations, visit the Kennedy Center website. Registration does not guarantee entry to the event space and access is first come, first served. Performances are open to television and radio news coverage. Media crews must request access at least one full week prior to the performance date.

Wed., Sept. 7 6 p.m.
Millennium Stage
Danielle Ponder

American soul singer Danielle Ponder is both empowering and a powerhouse. In 2020, NPR described her music as "anthemic while compassionate; soulful, while bold and strong. She reverberates with a goosebump-inducing passion." Ponder attended Northeastern University where she received her Juris Doctorate. For five years, Ponder worked as a public defender where she provided criminal defense to the indigent community. In 2018 she made the gutsy decision to pursue her passion-music. In 2021, Ponder performed at the Newport Jazz Festival where her performance was hailed as one of the stand out performances of the event. Ponder is preparing her first self-produced EP, Some of Us Are Brave, set for release in early 2022 on Future Classic. Ponder continues to advocate for criminal justice reform and has been an influential leader in the Black Lives Matter movement in Rochester, NY.

Thu., Sept. 8
6 p.m.
Millennium Stage
Soulmatic presents The Time Machine

Soulmatic is a cultural hub for Black art and streetwear apparel. We aim to bring authentic representation of collective stories from the culture of Black American heritage. We highlight storytelling through movement, music, and fashion. We offer movement education, visual productions, community events, and custom streetwear apparel. Art is a reflection of the high intelligence, imagination, and cultural identity of the people. Soulmatic aims to bring this colorful culture to the world, one solo at a time.

Fri., Sept. 9 6 p.m.
Millennium Stage
Abraham Alexander

"His soulful, blues style voice brings listeners into a personal journey, evoking emotion in the deepest sense."-NPR Music

Born in Greece to parents of Nigerian descent, Abraham Alexander moved to Texas with his family at age 11, determined to escape the racial tensions they faced in Athens. While Alexander's lyrics speak to pain, trauma, and life-changing loss, he continues to instill his music with a joyful passion and irrepressible spirit, ultimately giving way to songs that radiate undeniable hope.

Sat., Sept. 10 6 p.m.
Millennium Stage
Classically Dope ft. Konshens The MC

Classically Dope is a hip-hop and classical music collaboration created by award-winning hip hop artist and U.S. Cultural Ambassador, Konshens the MC.

Performing at the intersection of social justice and positive influence, Classically Dope tackles subjects such as the power of belief, racial inequality, and being a change agent in the world. This fusion brings diverse communities together by exemplifying common love-through music that transcends geography, race, age, values, and socioeconomic status.

Sun., Sept. 11
3 p.m.
Justice Forum at the REACH

Extraordinary Cinema: Parasite

Meet the Park Family: the picture of aspirational wealth. And the Kim Family, rich in street smarts but not much else. Be it chance or fate, these two houses are brought together and the Kims sense a golden opportunity. Masterminded by college-aged Ki-woo, the Kim children expediently install themselves as tutor and art therapist, to the Parks. Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the two families. The Kims provide "indispensable" luxury services while the Parks obliviously bankroll their entire household. When a parasitic interloper threatens the Kims' newfound comfort, a savage, underhanded battle for dominance breaks out, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks. By turns darkly hilarious and heart-wrenching, PARASITE showcases a modern master at the top of his game.

Wed., Sept. 14
6 p.m.
Millennium Stage

Be Steadwell

Be Steadwell is a queer pop composer, filmmaker, and storyteller from Washington, D.C. She composes her songs on stage using looping, vocal layering, and beat boxing. Her original music features earnest lyricism and affirming queer content. Be's goal as a musician is to make other black girls, queers, introverts, and weirdos feel seen and loved.

Thu., Sept. 15
6 p.m.
Millennium Stage

Krystal Butler presents BreAkThRougH

Krystal Butler and dancers will share excerpts from the evening-length show, BreAkThRougH. This project brings private conversations and stories about mental health to the stage. It explores themes of improvisation, partnering, and ABA formats, through the movement languages of modern dance. In addition, there is a live music aspect from artist and dancer, Kingsley Ibeneche. The audience is invited to see the company in their vulnerable states through the recognition of their hardships, relationships, heartbreak, and grief. Through those experiences, breakthroughs are shared.

Fri., Sept. 16
6 p.m.
Millennium Stage

Project ChArma presents Chronicles of Nina...what now

An exploration of Nina Simone's music paralleled to the Black experience. Project ChArma utilizes Modern, West African, and Street derived movement to present a work-in-progress exploring recurring themes surrounding people of color in the New America.

Sat., Sept. 17 6 p.m.
The REACH
National Dance Day Celebration

Wherever you are, we want to see you dance! Hosted by "Millennial Hype Man" KyleOnTheMic and presented in partnership with the Kennedy Center, American Dance Movement, and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), National Dance Day celebrates the joy of dance and movement. Join us for free performances, interactive dance routines and lessons, live music, film screenings, and more from local D.C. artists and dance organizations. Experience a range of dance styles-including Flamenco, Modern, West-African, Street Styles, Afro-Caribbean, Indian Classical Dance, Tap, Ballet, and Contemporary.

National Dance Day 2022 is curated in collaboration with the Kennedy Center's Social Impact programming team and Washington, D.C.'s Dance Place. More the complete National Dance Day schedule, please see here.

Sun., Sept. 18 3 p.m.
Justice Forum at the REACH
Extraordinary Cinema: Billy Elliot

The life of 11-year-old Billy Elliot, a coal miner's son in Northern England, is forever changed one day when he stumbles upon a ballet class during his weekly boxing lesson. Before long, he finds himself in dance, demonstrating the kind of raw talent seldom seen by the class' exacting instructor, Mrs. Wilkinson. With a tart tongue and a never-ending stream of cigarettes in her hand, Mrs. Wilkinson's zest for teaching is revived when she sees Billy's potential.

Wed., Sept. 21 6 p.m.
Millennium Stage
Gili Yalo

Presented in partnership with the Embassy of Israel in the United States, the Ethiopian Israeli International musician, Gili Yalo combines an Ethiopian musical legacy with genres such as funk, jazz, and soul.

"The whole thing has a strut to its step. With Yalo singing in both Amharic and English, his band cook up a whole range of retro flavors, from golden-age Ethiopian horns and old-school synths to the classic R&B rhythm-section sound. It doesn't turn into a heard-it-all-before fusion either ... [listen] and you will feel like the coolest person alive. After Gili Yalo, of course."-Songlines Magazine

Thu., Sept. 22
6 p.m.
Millennium Stage

Willie Watson

For over two decades, Willie Watson has made modern folk music rooted in older traditions. He's a folksinger in the classic sense: a singer, storyteller, and traveler, with a catalog of songs that bridge the gap between the past and present. From his early days as a founding member of the Old Crow Medicine Show to his current work as a solo artist, he is a celebrated musician with a rich vocal range, a top interpreter of the folk canon and a highly skilled multi-instrumentalist.

Fri., Sept. 23 6 p.m.
Millennium Stage
AAPI Voices presents Asian Pasifika Arts Collective (APAC)

AAPI Voices began as a storytelling series that celebrates AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) history and heritage. Events range from public performances to more casual and intimate gatherings open to community participation. Each year we select a theme that welcomes deeper cultural exploration and/or reflects current events. Previous examples include This is How We Party! and All American Asians, a topic chosen to coincide with the 2020 Presidential Election.

Sat., Sept. 24
6 p.m.
Millennium Stage

Global Connections: Stories from the Peace Corps

Stories build connections. They change minds, open hearts, and they can build enduring bridges between individuals and communities. Global Connections: Stories from the Peace Corps will showcase inspirational stories about the transformational connections made in the Peace Corps.

Wed., Sept. 28 6 p.m.
Millennium Stage
Kyshona

Kyshona is an artist ignited by untold stories, and the capacity of those stories to thread connection in every community. With the background of a licensed music therapist, the curiosity of a writer, the resolve of an activist, and the voice of a singer-Kyshona is unrelenting in her pursuit for the healing power of song.

Kyshona blends roots, rock, R&B, and folk with lyrical prowess. She is both a sought after collaborative vocalist working with artists like Margo Price whom she accompanied on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Adia Victoria who features Kyshona, Price and Jason Isbell in her single "You Was Born to Die", and a burgeoning performer in her own right whose 2020 release Listen, was voted BEST PROTEST ALBUM of 2020 by Nashville Scene.

Thu., Sept 23
6 p.m.
Millennium Stage
Anand Wilder

Anand Wilder's reputation as a talented multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter emerged in the Brooklyn indie rock scene of the late 2000s, where he joined his bandmates in painting on the eclectic palette of synths, strings, and harmonies that defined Yeasayer's acclaimed psychedelic world beat and swerving electro-pop experiments. He was at home writing and fronting big hits like Yeasayer's "O.N.E.," and "Wait for the Summer," but the spirit of community always pervaded his surprising collaborations, from the guest-star-studded recordings of the peculiar rock musical album Break Line (2014) that Wilder composed with college friend Maxwell Kardon, to his occasional production credits for fellow travelers like Suckers and Das Racist.

Fri., Sept. 30
6 p.m.
Millennium Stage
NSO

Members of the National Symphony Orchestra play an assortment of chamber music.

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