3/18/25 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Nikki Giovanni – Ego Tripping and More

In her early work, Nikki Giovanni expressed the militant themes of the Black Arts Movement. In 1970 Giovanni introduced her third volume of poetry Re:Creation, which included her classic poem Ego – Tripping. This was followed by Night Comes Softly one of the earliest anthologies of Black Women’s poetry. Continue reading

3/16/25 O&A NYC GOSPEL SUNDAY: The Caravans- Mary Don’t You Weep (Live)-Inez Andrews, Albertina Walker, Dorothy Norwood, James Cleveland

Gospel icons and trailblazers The Caravans featuring Inez Andrews, Albertina Walker, Dorothy Norwood and James Cleveland on piano perform Mary Don’t You Weep. Continue reading

3/15/25 O&A NYC ITS SATURDAY- ANYTHING GOES: Carmen DeLavallade- The Creation (TEDxEast 2012)

Dancer, actor and choreographer Carmen DeLavallade performs The Creation featuring choreography by her husband Geoffrey Holder. Holder also designed the costume and music. 
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3/13/25 O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Shirley Ellis – The Name Game (1965)

The Name Game is a song co-written and performed by Shirley Ellis as a rhyming game that creates variations on a person’s name. She explains through speaking and singing how to play the game. Continue reading

3/7/25 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Stormy Weather- Lena Horne, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Cab Calloway, Nicholas Brothers, Katherine Dunham and dancers

Shall We Dance Friday

Stormy Weather is a 1943 film musical produced and released by 20th Century Fox. The movie is considered one of the best Hollywood musicals with an all African-American cast and serve to  showcase of some of the top African-American performers of the time. Continue reading

3/2/25 O&A NYC SUNDAY MORNING FUNNIES: Jenifer Lewis – Black Don’t Crack fea. Marc Shaiman (Live at the Rosie O’Donnell Show 1996)

What better way to begin Women’s History Month with the one and only Jennifer Lewis! Our Sunday Morning Funnies comes from a 1996 live performance on Rosie O’Donnell where Lewis accompanied by pianist Marc Shaiman performed Black Don’t Crack

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2/27/25 O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Bobby McFerrin & The Kuumba Singers – Hold on

The Kuumba Singers of Harvard College & Bobby McFerrin perform Hold On in Leipzig, Germany. This gospel song was written by Rev. Cleophus Robinson Jr., and first recorded on his 1980 album Consolation.

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2/26/24 O&A NYC WILDIN OUT WEDNESDAY: White Priviledge – Queens of the Rachet

White Privilege – a Cinderella parody sung by ‪@ZingaImani‬ and @CHELSEA REGINA Written and Directed by ‪@joshuagilyard‬. Continue reading

2/18/24 O&A NYC DANCE REVIEW: Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet – Remembering

By Walter Rutledge

Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet (JGCO) presented their New York City season February 13 thru 15 at Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Bam Fisher Fishman Space. The seventy minute audience friendly one act was more than a celebration of Black History Month; it is also a fitting tribute to the dance theatre genre. The season offered a blend of spoken word, live drumming, recorded music and voiceovers, theater, ritual, art, photography, video projections and of course the primary medium dance. Continue reading

2/14/25 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: I Wanna Be Ready – Amos Machanic Jr.

Amos Machanic, Jr. joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1996. During his 15 years with the company, Amos had the pleasure of traveling and performing across the globe and in 2010, he performed at the White House tribute to Judith Jamison. Continue reading