By Daniel D'Addario 8/28/12 8:00am

the eight-day week

every day

To Do Tuesday: Middle East on Upper West

If your level of understanding of Arab politics is so meager that Vogue has commissioned pieces on geopolitics from you, it may be time to bone up a bit on what’s happening on the other side of the world. We’re dropping in on the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s New Arab Cinema festival, featuring films from Palestine, Egypt and Jordan, among other nations. Today brings a screening of Every Day Is a Holiday, about three women’s journey through the Lebanese mountains in order to meet with their imprisoned husbands. (In terms of cheeriness, it’s not exactly Hope Springs!) Read More

By Erica Schwiegershausen 8/21/12 6:15pm

Dining al Fresco

diner 16

White, Wine: The Second Annual Dîner en Blanc

Packs of diners clad exclusively in white descended upon Lincoln Center on Monday evening for the city’s second annual Dîner en Blanc, an American version of the shared-meal-cum-flash-mob started by François Pasquier in Paris in 1988.

This year’s more than 3,000 attendees arrived in groups led by volunteers—as per tradition, the location of the dinner is kept a secret from the diners until that evening, to preserve at least an illusion of spontaneity. The rules for participants are strict: they must carry in their own table, chairs, white tablecloths, flatware and four-course dinners, and they must dress entirely in white. “This means no ivory, no cream or any other color will be permitted,” a discussion thread on the event’s website from one of the hosts stated, advising attendees to dress “elegantly.” Elizabeth Hill, an elementary school teacher, even wore her wedding dress.

“Well, it’s white, and it’s all I had!” she said, explaining that she and her husband had decided to come at the last minute when their friends offered them tickets. “Might as well,” she shrugged. Read More

By Lindsey Cherner 5:00pm

invitation to the dance

TK TK Patricia Ward Kelly TK TK.

Two Evenings of Gene Kelly Lore at Lincoln Center, Hosted by his Archivist and Widow

Patricia Ward Kelly, the widow of legendary performer Gene Kelly, wrote down everything her husband said—and we mean everything.

Mrs. Kelly recalled this prodigious note-taking yesterday in an interview with The Observer. “It was constant: what we were doing, what we were eating, the people we were meeting, what Gene was saying,” she said. “In fact, we were sitting at dinner once and he said, ‘You’re not writing anything down.’ And I told him, ‘I’m eating!’”

Over two nights this week, Friday and Saturday, Mrs. Kelly will give two special multimedia presentations at Lincoln Center about the life and work of her husband, who she calls “more of a creator than a performer,” culled from this rich archival material. Her program is part of the Film Society’s 23-film retrospective entitled “The Invitation to the Dance: Gene Kelly @ 100,” which honors the centenary of Mr. Kelly’s birth and runs through July 26. Read More

By Michele Narov 7/18/12 4:10pm

Paris Opera Ballet

Olivia Flatto at the Paris Opera Ballet Summer Soiree at Lincoln Center. (Amber De Vos/ PatrickMcMullan.com)

After 16 Years, an Elite French Ballet Company Returns to Lincoln Center

At 6 p.m. last Wednesday, a gaggle of elegant ballet fans crowding out onto the balcony of the David H. Koch Theater murmured excitedly about the return of the Paris Opera Ballet to New York City for the first time in 16 years.

These were the attendees of the Lincoln Center’s summer soiree, a fundraising gala that featured cocktails and appetizers before the company’s performance and a late dinner. One ballet enthusiast told The Observer that he and his wife had seen the company several times before in Paris. “For dance fans of both traditional ballet and contemporary ballet, this is as good as it gets,” said Steve Pesner. “And this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see them in New York.” Read More

By Daniel D'Addario 6/06/12 12:38pm

the eight-day week

Jane Fonda (Getty Images)

To Do Wednesday: Jane Says

We were thinking about dropping by tonight’s big Whitney Art party—featuring performance art by Kalup Linzy, Friend of James Franco—but we’re not feeling very hip. (It’s easier to be chic when you’re not sweating and swatting mosquitoes!) We’re going to bask in the chilly sexagenarian quietude of a Lincoln Center audience at “An Evening With Read More

By Daniel D'Addario 5/25/12 8:00am

the eight-day week

"Alien"

To Do Friday: Great Scott

Not everyone is as interested in nature, or in hobnobbing, as we are—but what can the hoi polloi do on a sticky Friday night in the city as we finish our jitney ride? Given the moribund state of summer movies—and the nightmarish state of cola-swilling, constantly texting moviegoers—we recommend checking out Lincoln Center for the Read More