Music in D.C.: Millennium Stage--Danças Ocultas

Whenever we attend a performance at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, we are usually unsure what we will see and hear.  The Millennium Stage features artists that are not well known.  The artists hail from around the U.S. and the world and they perform all sorts of music.  We have seen musical performances as diverse as D.C. funk and classical opera.  A recent visit to the Millennium Stage proves the point.

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During June, the Kennedy Center recently celebrated the Month of Portugal with a concert on the Millennium Stage featuring a quartet of concertina players from (you guessed it) Portugal.  

What is a concertina?  Here is a photo.

The quartet is called Danças Ocultas and the performers travel the world sharing their extraordinary style of music.  

Danças Ocultas performing on the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage

The four members of Danças Ocultas 

The music, although very hard to describe, was enjoyable.  The music is experimental and seems to be a unique blend of ambient music, with its focus on tone and atmosphere, and traditional European accordion music.  You can decide for yourself by listening to some of the performance (click here).  Enjoy.

P.S. If you want to learn more about the quartet, here is some information.