Arts & Entertainment

Arts news in brief: Sept. 30

A gay musical, Baltimore Black Pride and a Dakshina performance

Published

15 years ago

September 29, 2011

Juliette Ebner

A scene from ‘Leave it On the Floor,’ which will be screened in D.C. next week. (Image courtesy D.C. Black Pride)

Gay musical to be screened

D.C. Black Pride presents the D.C. premiere of “Leave It on the Floor” at Landmark’s E Street Cinema (555 11th St., N.W.) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

“Leave It” is a musical about a young, black gay man who is thrown out of his home and discovers the L.A. ball scene, joining a struggling house. The movie features 11 original songs by Beyonce’s music director, Kim Burse, and choreography by Beyonce’s dance master, Frank Gatson, Jr.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at landmarktheatres.com/tickets.

Baltimore Black Pride next weekend

Leiomy of Vogue Evolution, featured in the sixth season of MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew,” will be at Baltimore Black Pride’s main event, Batteries Not Included. The ninth annual Baltimore Black Pride begins Tuesday and runs through Oct. 11.

Leiomy will perform at Baltimore’s Black Pride event next weekend. (Photo courtesy MTV)

The celebration begins with “The A-List Party: A Night to Dance and Mingle” at Clubb Bunns (606 W. Lexington St.) Tuesday at 10 p.m. Wednesday there will be a screening of “Blueprint” at the Creative Alliance Arts Center (3134 Eastern Ave.) at 7 p.m. Friday is the meet and greet affair and black-out party at Club Bunns featuring Kim Walker and her band, “Rapture” at 6 p.m.

The main event is Oct. 8th at Paradox (1310 Russell St.) with Lola Monroe, Damon Rhodes, celebrity makeup artist Jaya Star and Leiomy from MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew.

Cover is $15 or $10 before 1 a.m. with a flyer.

For more information, visit blackpridebaltimore.org.

Dakshina back with various events

Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company, a gay-helmed outfit, has its annual poetry reading and sitar concert Sunday at the Westminster Presbyterian Church (400 I St., S.W.) featuring Gowri Koneswaran at 3:30 p.m. and Alif Laila’s annual Art of Peace Concert at 4 p.m.

Dakshina will also have its eighth annual Fall Festival of Indian Arts at the Lincoln Theatre (1215 U St., N.W.) on Oct. 7-8 featuring Leela Samson, who will open and close the festival, as well as Kalakshetra.

For more information on the company and any of its events, visit dakshina.org.

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Out & About

Equality Chamber hosts Pride in Business Expo and Profits & Pours

Entrepreneurs, business leaders, professionals to meet at Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs

Published

2 hours ago

October 4, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

(Photo by auremar/Bigstock)

The Equality Chamber of Commerce is bringing together LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, business leaders, professionals, advocates, and community partners on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 2:30 p.m. at the D.C. Mayor’s Office for LGBTQ Affairs (899 N. Capitol Street, NE).

This is an afternoon and evening focused on one essential question: How do we build businesses and a business community that can thrive? The Pride in Business Expo and Profits & Pours with Stephanie will create a powerful forum for connection, practical knowledge, and economic opportunity at the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs. The Pride in Business Expo, taking place from 4-7 p.m., brings the region’s LGBTQ+ business community together to showcase businesses, build relationships, discover resources, and create new opportunities.

Out & About

Learn more about Virginia’s queer history

‘The Remarkable Visibility of Hannah Nokes’ event scheduled for Wednesday

Published

3 hours ago

October 4, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

(Image by larich/Bigstock)

Queer Virginia Contributor Amy Bertsch will host “The Remarkable Visibility of Hannah Nokes” on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. at Sprouse Rare Book Room inside the Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library (717 Queen St., Alexandria, Va.).

Amy will share the story of Hannah Nokes, an African-American transgender woman who made headlines in 1933 when she testified in a high-profile murder trial. Learn about Nokes’s life, her place in history, and the broader social context of her remarkable story. Her story is among those featured in the book “Queer Virginia: New Stories in the Old Dominion.”

Out & About

Annapolis Pride arrives this weekend

Sixth annual LGBTQ celebration held in Maryland capital

Published

2 days ago

October 2, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

Annapolis Pride is set for Saturday. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The Sixth Annual Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 11 a.m. on the streets adjacent to St. John’s College.

The theme of this year’s Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival celebration is “United in Pride, Together We Thrive!” Saturday’s parade will begin on St. John’s Street adjacent to St. John’s College, continue along Calvert Street to Northwest Street, to Church Circle, and onto West Street. The parade route then turns onto Amos Garrett Boulevard and eventually ends on Constitution Avenue near Maryland Hall.

Those with disabilities will be able to watch the parade from a special viewing porch at the Graduate Hotel at 126 West St. An Annapolis Pride volunteer will be there and available to assist.

For more details, visit the festival’s website.