By Walter Rutledge
Journalist and author Cheryl Wills joins the cast as both actor and playwright for the Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Dance Company in tonight’s production of Remembering at the BAM Fisher Fishman Space, 321 Ashland Place, in downtown Brooklyn. Wills shared the story of her great, great, great grandfather Private Sandy Wills with young audiences on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday evening’s performance playwright Wills will be performed by Thera Ward. Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
Thera Ward has had a varied performance career based on her ability to broaden her artistic horizons. At 13 she made her debut as one of Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) founder Arthur Mitchells’ Baby Ballerinas. By 17 she was touring the world performing principal roles with DTH and helping to crack ballet’s color glass ceiling. Continue reading
Meet Deven Crawford a 19-year-old Las Vegas Nevada native who is living his dream. The former dance major at the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts happened to meet Jamel Gaines at the 2024 IABD (International Association of Black in Dance) conference. Today Crawford is a sophomore studying dance at Marymount College in Manhattan and one of the newest members of the Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Dance Company (JGCO). Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
Dance Theatre of. Harlem founder Arthur Mitchell told me, “It’s easy to choreograph on professionals try choreographing on regular people”. He was implying that the dance maker must rely more on creativity than on established steps and patterns. Jamel Gaines has accepted this challenge. Instead of using members of the Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Dance Theater, he has constructed a large intergenerational cast of church constituents.
On Sunday February 1st the Creative Outlet founder/artistic director will present his staging and choreography in MAAFA: The Capture. The Brainchild of Bishop, Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood, the 9am free performance at Mt. Piscah Baptist Church, located at 167-10 137th Ave in Jamaica, Queens, will herald in Black History Month. MAAFA: The Capture is a twenty-minute dance theatre vignette depicting the African American experience.
O&A NYC Magazine Editor-in-Chief Walter Rutledge attended recent rehearsals and watched Gaines put his neophyte cast through the paces. These rehearsals were equal parts inspiration and perspiration. A true old school director Gaines rehearsals are both exacting and exhausting. And Gaines high energy and cajoling demeanor effortlessly brings out the movement shapes and dramatic artistry. Don’t take my word here’s a sneak peek into the rehearsal process.
MAAFA: The Capture rehearsal
The black church has always been the source of not only inspiration but the hallmark for information and education. MAAFA: The Capture captures African American history in an entertaining and enlightening dance theater group endeavor. Unity through community.
“A continent too often diminished, wounded, or forgotten, yet still rising, still loving, still giving. Africa is the source. The first heartbeat of the world. The flame beneath the ashes, the stardust in our blood.” – Le Pacte de Cendres Continue reading
Shot on the streets and rooftops of sunny LA, our A-Z of Dance shows you how to set hearts alight and clubs on fire. Float like an Arabesque, spin like a B-Boy, wobble like a Chicken Noodle Soup… it’s time to step up! In a very special project for i-D and Diesel, director Jacob Sutton has captured the world’s hottest dancers walking in the air in their Jogg Jeans and cut-offs.
Lil Buck shows us the way of Memphis Jookin. Super-thighs Nicole the Pole – star of Rihanna’s “Pour It Up” video – takes us to a whole other level. And fresh from the Rick Owens catwalk, the Soul Step team show us how to dance to Le1f. Continue reading
Tribute to Fela is a celebration of the legendary Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the pioneer of Afrobeat whose music, activism and sense of identity reshaped African sound and culture forever.
Continue reading
Jeremiah FJ Sax, the 13 year old Saxophonist prodigy, went head to head with Kid Steppers Dance Academy, and the battle was unbelievably close.The was going crazy over both acts, the judges couldn’t decide, and the energy in the hall was electric. Continue reading
Augustine Miles Kelechi Okechukwu (born 17 December 1992), popularly known as Tekno, a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
Wollman Rink is a public ice rink in the southern part of Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. It is named after the Wollman family who donated the funds for its original construction. The rink is open for ice skating from late October to early April.
830 5th Ave, New York, NY 10065
Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
Brooklyn Museum
To mark the centennial of The New Negro—the groundbreaking 1925 anthology of poetry, essays, and art edited by Alain Locke—The Gay Harlem Renaissance invites visitors to immerse themselves in the richness of Black LGBTQ+ life in the 1920s and 1930s.
The New York HistoricalWollman Rink is a public ice rink in the southern part of Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. It is named after the Wollman family who donated the funds for its original construction. The rink is open for ice skating from late October to early April.
830 5th Ave, New York, NY 10065
Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
Brooklyn Museum
Mycelium Workshop - Instructor: Raúl Serrano Núñez ballet master of the Lyon Opera Ballet
Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival in New York Workshops 20 workshops are being held at the New York Center for Creativity & Dance, recently opened by one of Dance Reflections’ loyal partners, The Joyce Theater. Each of these moments aims to foster exchanges between the dance community and the audience.
287 East 10th Street, New York, NY
Studio 1
To mark the centennial of The New Negro—the groundbreaking 1925 anthology of poetry, essays, and art edited by Alain Locke—The Gay Harlem Renaissance invites visitors to immerse themselves in the richness of Black LGBTQ+ life in the 1920s and 1930s.
The New York Historical
Wollman Rink is a public ice rink in the southern part of Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. It is named after the Wollman family who donated the funds for its original construction. The rink is open for ice skating from late October to early April.
830 5th Ave, New York, NY 10065
Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
Brooklyn Museum
A dance and wellness classes design for Older Adults taught by Walter Rutledge
720 Nereid Ave, Bronx, NY 10466
To mark the centennial of The New Negro—the groundbreaking 1925 anthology of poetry, essays, and art edited by Alain Locke—The Gay Harlem Renaissance invites visitors to immerse themselves in the richness of Black LGBTQ+ life in the 1920s and 1930s.
The New York HistoricalWollman Rink is a public ice rink in the southern part of Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. It is named after the Wollman family who donated the funds for its original construction. The rink is open for ice skating from late October to early April.
830 5th Ave, New York, NY 10065
Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
Brooklyn MuseumTo mark the centennial of The New Negro—the groundbreaking 1925 anthology of poetry, essays, and art edited by Alain Locke—The Gay Harlem Renaissance invites visitors to immerse themselves in the richness of Black LGBTQ+ life in the 1920s and 1930s.
The New York HistoricalWollman Rink is a public ice rink in the southern part of Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. It is named after the Wollman family who donated the funds for its original construction. The rink is open for ice skating from late October to early April.
830 5th Ave, New York, NY 10065
Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
Brooklyn MuseumTo mark the centennial of The New Negro—the groundbreaking 1925 anthology of poetry, essays, and art edited by Alain Locke—The Gay Harlem Renaissance invites visitors to immerse themselves in the richness of Black LGBTQ+ life in the 1920s and 1930s.
The New York HistoricalWollman Rink is a public ice rink in the southern part of Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. It is named after the Wollman family who donated the funds for its original construction. The rink is open for ice skating from late October to early April.
830 5th Ave, New York, NY 10065
Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
Brooklyn MuseumTo mark the centennial of The New Negro—the groundbreaking 1925 anthology of poetry, essays, and art edited by Alain Locke—The Gay Harlem Renaissance invites visitors to immerse themselves in the richness of Black LGBTQ+ life in the 1920s and 1930s.
The New York HistoricalDance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival in New York Workshops 20 workshops are being held at the New York Center for Creativity & Dance, recently opened by one of Dance Reflections’ loyal partners, The Joyce Theater. Each of these moments aims to foster exchanges between the dance community and the audience.
287 East 10th Street, New York, NYWollman Rink is a public ice rink in the southern part of Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. It is named after the Wollman family who donated the funds for its original construction. The rink is open for ice skating from late October to early April.
830 5th Ave, New York, NY 10065
Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
Brooklyn MuseumTo mark the centennial of The New Negro—the groundbreaking 1925 anthology of poetry, essays, and art edited by Alain Locke—The Gay Harlem Renaissance invites visitors to immerse themselves in the richness of Black LGBTQ+ life in the 1920s and 1930s.
The New York HistoricalWollman Rink is a public ice rink in the southern part of Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. It is named after the Wollman family who donated the funds for its original construction. The rink is open for ice skating from late October to early April.
830 5th Ave, New York, NY 10065
Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
Brooklyn MuseumTo mark the centennial of The New Negro—the groundbreaking 1925 anthology of poetry, essays, and art edited by Alain Locke—The Gay Harlem Renaissance invites visitors to immerse themselves in the richness of Black LGBTQ+ life in the 1920s and 1930s.
The New York Historical