PICTURES AT A GALA FOR ALVIN AILEY & PLAYING W/ THE HIPSTAMATIC

The Avlin Ailey gala was held tonight at the Kennedy Center. It's a fun party. Lots of dancing (fittingly). I go every year, even when I'm not feeling up to going out because it makes me glad I made the effort. If nothing else I have fun with my table mates, as I did tonight. We started to play with my Hipstamatic app, with me showing off the different film stocks and so forth. Not unlike playing with an etch-a-sketch.

When she was doing the seating, I asked event planner extraordinaire Carolyn Peachy to please seat me between two billionaire widowers (I request that at every dinner. Still waiting). Tonight on my right was a painter, Jacqelyn Flowers, who has her studio near Union Station, and on my left was Alvin Ailey dancer Sarah Daley, who is from Illinois and lives in the Bronx.  Great conversation (more about that tomorrow on washingtonian.com). Our host was DeDe Lea, the executive vice president of Viacom. So nice. So friendly. Pretty, too. Everyone at our table was pretty/handsome.

THE FIRST COURSE HAD LOTS OF BEATS. I LOVE BEATS.

THE SINGERS FOR FREE SPIRIT, FROM ENTERTAINMENT EXCHANGE (BOOK THIS BAND!)

DANCER SARAH DALEY, AFTER HER PERFORMANCE IN THE OPERA HOUSE, IN PROFILE

DEDE AND DALLAS LEA. HIS SPECIALITY IS SPINAL SURGERY

ARTIST JACQELYN FLOWERS AND HER DATE

DIDN'T GET HER NAME, BUT HER EMAIL IS DSINGA. MAKES SENSE.

JACQELYN FLOWERS

ME WITH DANCER SARAH DALEY

THE DINING ROOM BEFORE DINNER AND DANCING, ON THE KENNEDY CENTER ROOF TERRACE