Dancing the Degas Way

If you turn 90 in DC, how do you celebrate? Well, if you are The Phillips Collection art museum you have Mayor Vincent Gray proclaim a special day in your honor. And then you throw a giant free 90th Birthday Bash.

You have cupcake party favors, special gallery talks, and musical performances ranging from a Persian accordionist to a classic jazz quartet to a contemporary DJ.

And, since you are an art museum of course, you don't forget the art. A showing of the famed black artist Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series 1940-41 since you have all the odd numbers from the 60-piece series. (The Museum of Modern Art in New York has the even-numbered pieces).  A re-creation of the Klee room, which opened in 1948 and marked the first room in a museum dedicated to Paul Klee's captivating work. And, of course, your current masterpiece, an exhibit entitled Degas's Dancers at the Barre: Point and Counterpoint.

Now a quick word or 2 about Edgar Degas. While I recognize his talent, he is not one of my favorites. I much prefer Klee and especially Lawrence. I've always found Degas' bachelor fascination with ballerinas a tad creepy. And besides, being a thoroughly  modern fellow, I quite prefer my scantily-clads and nudes gyrating around vertical poles, not gracefully balancing on horizontal ones.

Tales, Tidbits, and Traveling Tips:
Free is one of the great 4 letter-words beginning with the letter F in the English language. Free is good. But when a museum that normally charges, opens free of charge you have to expect some entrance lines and crowds around exhibits. But just keep in mind - it is all free. We could have avoided today's crowd, but then we would have to pay. And, as I established before, free is good.