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Calendar for April 30

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Friday, April 30

Open Mic Night at the DC Center, 1810 14th St. N.W., at 8 p.m. for a night of queer spoken word and poetry. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come prepared to share your work. This event is free and open to the public.

Equality Forum arrives in Philadelphia this weekend with a packed schedule of panel discussions on the LGBT movement, parties and more. Visit equalityforum.org for a full schedule of events. Blade editor Kevin Naff joins Obama administration officials and GLAAD’s Jarrett Barrios for a Saturday panel on the White House at 1 p.m.

BYT Presents: Christmas In Heaven II: A Cosmic Disco Journey with DJ Shea Van Horn (Mixtape), DJ Cale (BYT) at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St N.W., starting at 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 1

Youth Pride, rescheduled from last weekend, takes place in the P Street Beach area (23rd & P streets) from noon-5 p.m. featuring a diverse lineup of musicians, speakers and other performers. The Infatuation dance at Fly Lounge follows from 5-9:30 p.m. Visit youthpridedc.org for more information.

Jam is returning to Mova Lounge with a very special session, Cherry Jam, to benefit The Cherry Fund. Drink specials, prizes and music by DJ Gemz. No cover but donations accepted for The Cherry Fund. The Jam begins at 9 p.m. at Mova Lounge, 1435 P St. N.W.

CODE, returns to Motley Bar above EFN Lounge, 1318 9th St., N.W., for its monthly installment. Gear, rubber, skin, uniform or leather dress code will be strictly enforced. Music provided by DJ Shea Van Horn. Admission is $10. Code is an 18+ event. There will be an open bar from 9-10 p.m.

Who’s Bad, “the world’s greatest Michael Jackson tribute band,” performs at 9 p.m. at Ram’s Head Live, 20 Market Place at Power Plant Live in downtown Baltimore. Tickets are $16.50; call 410-244-1131.

Sunday, May 2

Mamma Mia flash mob with Bowen McCauley Dance and the DC Cowboys Dance Company. Join the DC Cowboys for a dance “flash mob” of Mamma Mia. All you have to do is learn the steps to the Mamma Mia choreography via online tutorials. The public is invited to take part in these flash mob dances that will be performed live. 1 p.m. at Dupont Circle and a second flash mob 3 p.m. at Ballston Common Mall, 4328 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA. Online tutorial of Mamma Mia can be found here on You Tube: http://tinyurl.com/yb65gks

Mark Knopfler brings his “Get Lucky” tour to Warner Theatre, 13th Street between E&F streets, N.W., at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range $75.50-105.50; call 202-783-4000.

Monday, May 3

Country-Western dance lessons at Remingtons, 639 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. (half block west of Eastern Market Metro) from 8:30-9:30 p.m., $5 per person, per lesson (dance class participants should wear boots or shoes with leather soles).

Tuesday, May 4

Volunteers will be assembling safer sex kits and enjoying great drink specials at Motley, 7-10:30 p.m. Motley is the upstairs bar at EFN Lounge, located at 1318 9th St., N.W.

Drag bingo at Nellie’s Sports Bar, 900 U St., N.W., hosted by Shi-Queeta Lee, every Tuesday starting at 8 p.m. Free to play.

Sia performs at the 9:30 club, 815 V St., N.W., at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25; visit 930.com for information.

Wednesday, May 5

The Tom Davaron Social Bridge Club will meet at 7:30 p.m., at the Dignity Center, 721 8th St., S.E. (across from Marine Barracks) for social bridge. No partner needed. Visit lambdabridge.com.

Each Wednesday at the Green Lantern is POZ Wednesday. Starting at 8 p.m., POZ mixers provide a supportive atmosphere for those who are HIV positive and those who want to help eradicate the stigma surrounding HIV. The Green Lantern is located at 1335 Green Ct., N.W.

General Program Wednesdays 7-8:30 p.m. at the Vajroyogini Buddhist Center,1803 Connecticut Ave., N.W., 2nd floor, $12. How can we learn to love without pain? Through these teachings, we will learn to enjoy our relationships and in turn benefit others. For more information visit meditation-dc.org, call 202-986-2257 or e-mail [email protected].

Thursday, May 6

The Point Foundation’s annual Washington, D.C., reception is held from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Human Rights Campaign’s Equality Center, 1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W. Tickets are $75.

Johnny Blazes performs live at the DC Center. Johnny Blazes’ show is an evening-length performance that blends cabaret arts with theater to create a semi-narrative series of vignettes. The performance will begin at 8 p.m. in the DC Center Activity Room, 1810 14th St. N.W. Tickets $10 now or $15 at the door. Light refreshments will be served. Visit thedccenter.org for more information.

Final Capital Pride general meeting will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Volunteer sign-up, mixer and raffle. The meeting will be held at the Madison Hotel, 1177 15th St., N.W., near Farragut North and McPherson Square Metro stations. That evening, the full schedule of events and the headlining act for Capital Pride’s 35th anniversary celebration, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet!” will be announced. Volunteers interested in being a part of Capital Pride’s 35th anniversary celebration are encouraged to attend. Visit capitalpride.org or call 202-719-5304 for information.

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Celebrity News

HRC releases ‘Queer Renaissance Syllabus’

Beyoncé’s hit album inspired curriculum

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Beyoncé performs at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., on Aug. 6, 2023. The Human Rights Campaign has released a curriculum that her "Renaissance" album inspired. (Washington Blade photo by Isabelle Kravis)

In a move aimed at celebrating the beauty, brilliance and resilience of the LGBTQ community, the Human Rights Campaign unveiled the “Queer Renaissance Syllabus” that Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” album inspired. 

Curated by Justin Calhoun, Leslie Hall and Chauna Lawson of the HRC’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program, the syllabus includes a variety of academic articles, essays, films and other media rooted in Black queer and feminist studies. Each piece is directly inspired by the tracks on Beyoncé’s Billboard 200-topping dance album, “Renaissance.”

Beyoncé’s album “Renaissance” stands as a cultural milestone, celebrating the Black queer roots of dance music while shedding light on overlooked Black queer artists. Inspired by her late-Uncle Johnny, the album not only garnered critical acclaim but also shed light on the often marginalized contributions of Black queer artists. Winning four Grammys and yielding chart-topping hits like “Break My Soul” and “Cuff It,” the album sparked discussions about economic impact and cultural representation.

Amid its success, legislative challenges arose, with Florida and Texas enacting bans on DEI initiatives in public colleges. Recognizing the album’s transformative potential, HRC developed the “Queer Renaissance Syllabus” to leverage its impact for education and activism.

Tailored for educators, youth-serving professionals, DEI practitioners, higher education leaders and admirers of Beyoncé’s artistry, the syllabus aims to encourage meaningful discussions, enrich lesson plans, and explore innovative ways to honor the vibrancy and significance of LGBTQ individuals and their culture.

With six themes anchoring the syllabus, ranging from “intersectionality and inclusivity” to “social justice and activism,” it provides a comprehensive exploration of various facets of LGBTQ experiences and expressions. Fan-favorite tracks from the album are paired with scholarly readings, offering insights into empowerment, self-acceptance and the transformative power of artistic expression. The syllabus also reinforces HRC’s efforts to highlight, amplify and re-center Black and queer voices.

By providing links to articles, books, podcasts and interviews, each associated with a song from the album, it celebrates the rich cultural heritage and contributions of the Black queer community.

The concluding section of the syllabus includes Beyoncé’s tribute to O’Shea Sibley, a young Black queer person who was murdered in Brooklyn, N.Y., last July while voguing to “Renaissance” songs at a gas station. HRC also includes a statement that condemns hate crimes.

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Movies

Neo-noir ‘Femme’ offers sexy, intense revenge fantasy

A work of real and thrilling cinematic vision

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George MacKay and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett star in ‘Femme.’ (Photo courtesy of Utopia)

They say “revenge is sweet,” and it must be true. Why else would so many of our popular stories, dating all the way back to “Medea” and beyond, be focused on the idea of getting “even” with the people who have done us wrong?

It’s a concept with obvious appeal for anyone who has felt unjustly used by the world – or, more accurately, by the people in it – but that has particular resonance, perhaps, for modern queer audiences, long used to being relegated to the status of “victim” in the narratives we see on our screens. In “Femme” — the new UK indie thriller helmed by first-time feature directors Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping, now in limited theatrical release and expanding wider over the next two weeks — it provides the irresistible hook for a gripping tale of calculated vengeance in the face of anti-queer violence. Like the best of such stories, however, it’s as much a cautionary tale as it is a wish-fulfillment fantasy.

Set in London, it centers on Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), aka Aphrodite Banks, a popular drag performer in the city’s queer club scene who, after a performance one night, steps out in full costume to buy a pack of cigarettes and becomes the victim of a traumatic “gay bashing” incident at the hands of a young man goaded to violence by a thuggish gang of friends. Months later, though he’s recovered from his physical injuries, he is still deeply affected by the inner scars that linger. Robbed of the confidence that allowed him to perform, he’s withdrawn into a reclusive life, until concern from his friends and housemates prompts him to finally venture out into the world for a night of cruising at a gay sauna – where he encounters his bully doing the same thing. 

Unrecognizable and anonymously masculine out of his drag persona, Jules finds himself beginning a dangerous and duplicitous game in which he plans to “out” his former attacker – whose name, as he learns, is Preston (George MacKay) – in the most humiliating way possible. As his scheme begins to play out, however, he encounters an obstacle: in getting to know the closeted Preston, he is surprised to discover not only empathy for someone living their life in terrified camouflage, but a mutual attraction that develops despite the horrific history between them.

Framed as a self-described “neo-noir” story, a designation that implies a certain flavor of moral ambiguity as much as it does a tense and shadowy tale of intrigue or a psychologically complex tone, it’s a movie that relies heavily on style in order to sell its conceptual premise. Realistically, we might question the boldness that permits our protagonist to enact such a potentially hazardous scheme, but in the context of its genre trappings we are lulled into accepting it. And while most of us are likely “jaded” enough to question the possibility of tenderness between its two leading characters, the accepted conceits of the film noir form are enough to sell it to us – or at least allow us to grapple with it alongside Jules, whose righteously Machiavellian master plan is threatened by the feelings he “catches” in spite of himself.

That, of course, is part of the whole point. “Femme,” though it establishes itself by virtue of its very title as a testament to the struggle to “pass” for straight in a world that places a value judgment on perceived adherence to a strict norm for gender and sexuality, hinges on the idea that such things aren’t quite as clear-cut as we want to make them. Despite the black-and-white certainty we cling to when it comes to the subject of abusive or toxic relationships, there’s an emotional component that can only be ignored or dismissed at our peril, and even our most resolute intentions can be undermined by the shades of gray we discover in our hearts. 

Freeman and Ng – who also wrote the screenplay, adapting their own BAFTA-nominated short film from 2021 (starring Harris Dickinson and Paapa Essiedu) into a feature-length expansion – seem bent on challenging our snap judgments, on forcing us to sympathize with our oppressors by showing us the ways in which they, too, are prevented from living a fully authentic life by the expectations of their cultural environment. Even more challenging for many modern audiences, perhaps, may be the unavoidable observation that, in enacting his plan of revenge, Jules crosses the line between being a victim and being a victimizer – a fine point that may trigger uncomfortable implications in a social environment that has become marked by divisive moral constructs and hardline ethical posturing.

Before we scare you off with discussion of high-concept themes and “culture war” rhetoric, however, it’s crucial to bring up the elements that lift “Femme” above and beyond the level of so many such narrative films and makes it a somewhat unexpectedly potent piece of cinematic storytelling – and all of them have to do with the skill and intention behind it.

As to the former, the movie’s first-time directors manage a remarkable debut, steeping their film in moody, genre-appropriate visuals and murky morality. They pave a path beyond the easy assessments proscribed for us by conventional thinking, and force us to follow our sympathies into a disquieting confrontation between what we “know” as right and what we feel as true; at the same time, they push back against any natural sentimentality we might have about the situation, stressing the toxicity of the relationship in the middle of their film, the ironically-reversed insincerity of its dynamic – and, perhaps most importantly, the reality of the defining circumstances around it. While we might find ourselves longing for a happier resolution than the one we expect, the film makes no pretense that these two men might overcome the deep denial and traumatic associations – not to mention the calculated lack of honesty on the side of its de facto protagonist, to achieve some kind of “happy ending” between themselves. Nevertheless, we hope for it, in spite of ourselves.

That delicate dynamic works largely because of the movie’s lead actors. Both Stewart-Jarrett (“Candyman”) and MacKay (“Pride”, “1917”) deliver fully invested, utterly relatable performances, finding the emotional truth behind their interactions with as much palpable authenticity as they bring to the chemistry between them. They force us to abandon our preconceived ideas about each character by finding the human presence behind them, and it makes the story’s final outcome feel as heartbreaking as it does inevitable.

As for intention, “Femme” – which premiered at last year’s Berlin International Film Festival and went on to gather acclaim across the international film fest circuit – might be a little hard to take for the easily triggered, we won’t deny it. Still, it’s a work of real and thrilling cinematic vision that goes beyond easy morality to highlight the tragedy that comes from being forced to live behind a mask for the sake of societal acceptance. It’s also exciting, smart, and unexpectedly sexy – all of which make it a highly- recommended addition to your watchlist.

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Out & About

Trans Day of Visibility is here and here’s how to celebrate

Howard County LGBTQIA Commission to host Columbia event

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Howard County LGBTQIA Commission will host its inaugural event celebrating Trans Day of Visibility on Sunday, March 31 at 4 p.m. at Busboys and Poets in Columbia, Md.

The purpose of this inaugural event is to create a welcoming and inclusive space that celebrates and amplifies the voices of the trans community and its allies, highlights the joy and resilience of trans and non-binary individuals everywhere, and elevates their voices and shares their diverse experiences. 

This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite

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