8/24/20 O&A NYC DANCE… AND MORE: Peace One Love- Bringing Brooklyn Together

By Walter Rutledge

Dance has always been a catalyst for change. In 1936 Martha Graham created her masterwork Chronicles as a weapon against the rising menace of fascism in Germany. In 1959 Donald McKayle’s Rainbow Round My Shoulder evoked the hopelessness and inequality of Black men on a southern prison chain gang. On Saturday August 29 Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn (also known as Creative Outlet or just C.O.) will also use the power of dance to heal a community with Peace One Love, an afternoon of the arts celebrating the spirit of the now internationally recognized Black Lives Matter movement.   Continue reading

8/24/20 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: In the Heat of the Night- Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger

Sidney Poitier, in one of his most-celebrated roles, appears as Virgil Tibbs, a Philadelphia homicide detective who, while visiting a small Mississippi town, will find himself falsely arrested for a murder and then, in a strained collaboration with the town’s sheriff (Rod Steiger), stays on to help solve the murder. Continue reading

 8/24/20 O&A NYC SONG OF THE DAY: The Ojays’ Love Train- Virtual Biden-Harris Remix

The R&B legends The O’Jays bring some well needs summer soul to the upcoming politic season with this Virtual Biden Harris Election Remix of their 1972 classic Love Train.   Continue reading

8/23/20 O&A NYC LOCKDOWN LEARNING: A History Of Oshun

Oshun is commonly called the River Orisha, or goddess, in the Yoruba religion and is typically associated with water, purity, fertility, love, and sensuality. Continue reading

8/22/20. O&A NYC ITS SATURDAY- ANYTHING GOES: The Queen (1968)

The Queen is a 1968 documentary film directed by Frank Simon and narrated by Flawless Sabrina. It depicts the experiences of transgender woman and “female illusionists” organizing and participating in the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Contest held at New York City’s Town Hall. Continue reading

8/21/20 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s Shelter

Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s Shelter is a passionate statement about the physical and emotional deprivation of homeless people.  Continue reading

8/21/20 LOCKDOWN LEARNING: The Lost Tapes: Malcolm X

Presented entirely through speeches, newscasts, and rarely seen archival footage, The Lost Tapes: Malcolm X tells the story of the man who, by any means necessary, willingly put his life at risk to bring change and equality to black America. Continue reading

8/17/20 O&A NYC DANCE: Ailey Celebrates Ellington (1974)

Alvin Ailey first began sketching out a suite of Ellington works on the newly formed the Repertory Workshop of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center which later became known as Ailey II. Continue reading