Kennedy Center Announces National Dance Day Activities, September 16

The Kennedy Center announces a full day of in-person activities for National Dance Day, Saturday, September 16, from 10:30 a.m.–11:15 p.m.

Presented through a partnership between the Kennedy Center, American Dance Movement, and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), this annual event invites people of all ages and abilities, from the youngest dancers to professionals, to participate in a free celebration of the joy of dance and movement. All outdoor events on Saturday will have captioning for activities on the main stage.

Marking 14 years of National Dance Day, this year's festivities celebrate the golden anniversary of hip hop culture while also kicking off the Center's season-long celebration honoring hip hop's foundation, evolution, influence, and impact across culture and generations. Highlighting the richness and abundance of hip hop dance forms in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. region, National Dance Day is envisioned with community curators Lauren DeVera, Chitra Subramanian, and community advisors Ama Law and Chris Law, and is presented in collaboration with Words Beats & Life (WBL) and True School. The day's events are supported by the Kennedy Center's Hip Hop Culture program and Social Impact division's Millennium Stage, Office Hours, and Dance Sanctuaries programs. An Office Hours residency will take place in the week leading up to National Dance Day with Ladies of Hip-Hop, a non-profit organization that provides artistic opportunities for girls and women in hip hop culture. In addition to their residency, Ladies of Hip-Hop will present a series of pop-up performances in partnership with Works & Process at the National Gallery Nights, the National Gallery of Art's popular after-hours program. Further details and dates can be found here.

Inspired by hip hop's foundational pillars—B-boying, DJing, MCing, Graffiti, and Knowledge—audiences will experience a variety of dance styles by local artists and companies starting at 10:30 a.m. with something for everyone and every ability, ranging from party and social dance to hip hop, locking, whacking, house, and beat ya feet, a D.C. street dance inspired by go-go. Beginning at 1:00 p.m. WBL's annual Freshest of All Time one-on-one b-boy/b-girl competition will host preliminaries indoors on Millennium Stage South (Concert Hall side). Then from 4:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m., the competition will move outdoors to the REACH Plaza, where the Freshest of All Time finals will take place as the evening's Millennium Stage (6 p.m.) performance, streamed live from the REACH Plaza. Additionally, as a celebration of graffiti and fine arts, WBL invites 10 of the DMV's best graffiti writers and muralists to create live works of art at the Center, as part of the Fine Lines Mural Jam on the REACH Plaza from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Featuring headlining DJ sets by True School DJs Sean “DJ Face” Armstrong and Marc Nfinit, two simultaneous dance parties launch the evening portion of the day, starting at 7:30 p.m. in the River Pavilion and Skylight Pavilion.

Participants will have opportunities to learn the official National Dance Day routine on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. with NBC's World of Dance Season three finalist and movement artist Poppin John. The routine brings together dancers and dance enthusiasts around the globe to celebrate National Dance Day as a form of exercise and of artistic expression. This year's instructional video will be released in the coming weeks and can be found via American Dance Movement's website.

A full and detailed National Dance Day schedule is located on the Center's website.  All National Dance Day events are free and access to the event space is first come, first served and may be limited due to capacity.

National Dance Day was launched in 2010 by So You Think You Can Dance co-creator and American Dance Movement co-founder Nigel Lythgoe in partnership with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who introduced a resolution declaring the last Saturday in July to be the country's official National Dance Day. As of 2019, National Dance Day is celebrated annually on the third Saturday in September. Founded by Lythgoe and Adam Shankman (producer of Hairspray, Step Up, What Men Want, and more), American Dance Movement creates an instructional dance video of the National Dance Day routine that invites participants to learn original choreography and put their own spin on it. The grassroots campaign highlights the importance of physical activity through dance, which, in addition to improving cardiovascular health, also improves self-confidence, self-expression, and social skills.

In addition to the Kennedy Center, Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California will be an official 2023 host venue for National Dance Day. For more information about National Dance Day, please visit the American Dance Movement website. 

Poppin John is a professional dancer/movement artist and has been popping for over 25 years, specializing in crowd pleasing robotic illusions, silky smooth waves, and straight explosive popping. He has performed, battled, and taught classes all over the world. His multiple viral videos on YouTube have over 250,000,000 views making him a “YouTube sensation.” He has worked with brands such as Hyundai, Lipton, Metro PCS, Head & Shoulders, Lego, Swisher Sweets, Google chrome, Trulia Real Estate, Vlado Footwear, Acura, and Pepsi. John is featured in the music video “Shake it off” by Taylor Swift in addition to the AMA's performance of “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift. He has performed on Ellen, Americas Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance, and was a finalist on NBC's World of Dance Season 3. On his website, www.learn.poppinjohn.com, Poppin John is sharing his knowledge and experience with students from all over the world. 

For more information about the Kennedy Center, visit www.kennedy-center.org.

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