EVENT:	"Adriana: Shadows on Yellow Silk," a documentary on Washington, D.C.'s premier belly dancer in the 1960's, by filmmakers Ray Schmitt and John J. Wayne.
WHEN:	Wednesday, February 4, 1998, 8 p.m.
WHERE:	The George Washington University Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre 800 21st Street, NW Washington, DC (Two blocks from Foggy Bottom Metro)
COST:	Free and open to the public.

Background: "Adriana: Shadows on Yellow Silk," is a one-hour dance film produced locally with the assistance of the Library of Congress Film Society. Adriana, the belly dancer depicted in the film, will be present at its showing. The film, which enjoyed great success in its original showings at the Mary Pickford Theater at the Library of Congress, is about the Dance of the Veil, the women's dance of the desert world. The dance made its American debut at the Chicago's World's Fair of 1893 and gained popularity as it spread through fairs and carnivals, eventually entering the worlds of ballet, nightclubs and film. It enjoyed a revival in the Washington area following the release of the film Never on Sunday in 1961.

This dance documentary is also a chronicle of Adriana's own life and her meditations on fame, success and obscurity. As Washington D.C.'s premier belly dancer in the 1960's and 1970's, Adriana enjoyed considerable recognition and acclaim. In the years following her stardom, Adriana faced a series of setbacks, including breast cancer, hip replacement surgery, illness and the murder of her husband. The film depicts her personal triumphs and professional comeback, enabled by the support of her troupe of dancers.

Filmmaker Ray Schmitt has been producing films and videos since 1975. He has won numerous national and international awards for productions, including first place in the Canadian International Film Festival, the CINE Golden Eagle Award and a Blue Ribbon in the 1992 American Film and Video Festival. In 1993, Schmitt produced A Conversation with Poet Laureate Rita Dove, hosted by National Public Radio Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg. He is currently working on a PBS documentary, A Gift of Music, to be hosted by Academy Award winning actress Marlee Matlin.

John J. Wayne, a former arts advisor and rights researcher in the U.S. Copyright Office and feature writer for the Library of Congress, currently consults on film preservation. Recently, his research has yielded precious lost works by major international authors, artists and composers. Wayne is also an accomplished graphic artist and the author of numerous articles of art, literary and film criticism. In recent years he has appeared in a documentary film, Thank You Mr. Jefferson, at the Library of Congress, and has assisted Ray Schmitt in producing Poet's Song.

Since the film's debut in August, Adriana, in addition to her new career in the beauty field, has been teaching her own dance-techniques to a new generation of local students. She has been presenting workshops and seminars for the past three years in ethnic and folk dancing and in cabaret. Her group of dancers has appeared at the Ethnic Heritage Festival in Silver Spring for the past several years, and performs at area nursing homes and rehabilitation centers.

Located four blocks from the White House, The George Washington University was created by an Act of Congress in 1821. Today, GW is the largest institution of higher education in the nation's capital. The University offers comprehensive programs of undergraduate and graduate liberal arts study as well as degree programs in medicine, law, engineering, education, business/public management and international affairs. Each year, GW enrolls a diverse population of 19,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 120 countries.