A Solemn Day, a Lasting Dialogue
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April 21 is Yom Hashoa, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, and a pair of exhibitions in the area promise to keep the dialogue going.
After a showing at the D.C. JCC in 2001, Esther Nisenthal Krinitz's intricate, jaw-dropping textiles -- depicting her life in Poland after the Nazis descended on her village -- have landed at the Mansion at Strathmore.
It was in the 1940s that Krinitz parted ways with her family, and, motivated by her survival instinct, changed her name and posed with her sister as a Catholic girl. It wasn't till the 1990s (after she had moved to the United States and became an accomplished seamstress; she never saw her family again) that she began creating these mixed-media textiles. There are 36 in all, only 11 of which are shown here. The stories are carefully embroidered in lettering at the bottom of each piece. Among the scenes in "Selected Works From Fabric of Survival: The Art of Esther Nisenthal Krinitz": one that shows plainly the dichotomy between the pastoral life she had in disguise, and the life of the Jewish boys (likely her own age) who toiled in a nearby camp.
Free. Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday; and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Through April 30. Mansion at Strathmore, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda. 301-581-5100 or http:/
And now that the cherry-blossom tourists have (mostly) gone, it's a good time to get to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to see the exhibition "State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda," a major, multimillion-dollar collection of items including posters, toys, even children's books that spread the Nazis' messages of hate and convinced the German people of the motives for war. Go Tuesday to witness the names of Holocaust victims read aloud in a public ceremony in the museum's Hall of Remembrance from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Free. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through December 2011. 100 Raoul Wallenberg Pl. SW. 202-488-0400 or http:/
Daniel Phoenix Singh
We can't be everywhere. So we're enlisting like minds to tell us what they've got on their calendars.
Daniel Phoenix Singh founded his D.C.-based troupe, Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company, in 2004 as a vehicle for blending the solo work of Indian classical dance with the more group-oriented nature of modern dance. In his leisure time, Singh (who is gearing up for shows at Dance Place on May 9-10) says he finds himself drawn to events "that are more socially conscious and politically conscious. . . . It has to have a message to it." His picks:
-- "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde." Rising playwright Moisés S. Kaufman's best-known play just opened at the Little Theater of Alexandria, and Singh is eager to see it. "Wilde is a role model for me, and I admire his courage to be open about his sexuality even when he had so much at stake." $15-$18. Various times through May 9. 600 Wolfe St., Alexandria. 703-683-0496 or http:/
-- "Ramchand Pakistani," Mehreen Jabbar's story of a Pakistani boy's trek across the border to India (and the caste and nationality issues that arise), screens today as part of Filmfest D.C. "In some ways I was really lucky growing up in India. I had friends of different religions. This concept of not getting along was not present, in my little circle, at least." $10. 7:30 p.m. today. Regal Cinemas Gallery Place, 701 Seventh St. NW. Visit http:/
-- Tuesday Night Milonga at Eighteenth Street Lounge. "Even though I dance almost five days a week, there is nothing more relaxing than a night out dancing with my friends," says Singh. He's a student and fan of Victoria Wood and Isaac Oboka's weekly tango "crash course" and party (a.k.a. milonga). $10 for the class; $10 for milonga. Tuesdays at 8 p.m. 18 and older. Eighteenth Street Lounge, 1212 18th St. NW. 202-277-4073 or http:/
Northern Virginia: The Scene A "Dance Invasion"
Beginning Wednesday, Friends of the Torpedo Factory hosts two nights of evening-length performances that are both stimulating for the soul and easy on the pocketbook (they're free). First up, on Wednesday, is Jane Franklin Dance, which will present bits of its works including "Incidence." Thursday, BosmaDance takes over the space to preview "Eternal Return," a new collaboration with visual artist Rosemary Feit Covey. Free. Wednesday at 7 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 N. Union St., Alexandria. 703-838-4565 or http:/
The District: Concert Titus Andronicus
Tonight at the Black Cat, catch country punks Lucero, a band that dishes Americana with a Springsteen-ish edge. But it's opener Titus Andronicus that has our attention of late: The New Jersey punks recall the dirty, lo-fi 1970s noise of the Sex Pistols and plain old liberation (it's a sound we're hearing a lot these days, from bands such as Times New Viking and the Black Lips). $14. 8 p.m. 1811 14th St. NW. 202-667-4490.
