Quadri Akinade Aruna is a professional Nigerian table tennis player. He is the first African player to be ranked top 10 in the world. Continue reading
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Category: Black History
1/28/24 O&A NYC DANCE: Philadanco- “Philly’s Finest” Returns to New York’s Joyce Theater
By Walter Rutledge
Philadanco- the Philadelphia Dance Company returns to New York City’s Joyce Theater, February 6th thru February 10th, 2024. The highly anticipated four-day five performance series will present the works of four emerging choreographers of merit, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Nijawwon Matthews, Ray Mercer, and Christopher Rudd. Evans, Matthews and Mercer have history with Philadanco as company members and in Mercer’s case choreographer-in-residence. While Rudd has gained recent notoriety for the two works set on American Ballet Theater. Continue reading
1/25/24 O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Deniece Williams – Free
Singer June Deniece Williams has been described as “one of the great soul voices” by the BBC. Free was her first music video. Continue reading
1/22/24 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Claudine (1974) Starring Diahann Carroll and James Earl Jones
Claudine is a 1974 American romantic comedy-drama film, directed by John Berry. Claudine was written by Lester Pine and Tina Pine, starring James Earl Jones, Diahann Carroll and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs. The film was released on April 22, 1974, grossing about $6 million, a modest hit for the times. It was praised for showing a new dimension in black cinema during the height of blaxploitation. Continue reading
1/21/24 O&A NYC DANCE REVIEW: Ronald K. Brown /Evidence
By Walter Rutledge
Ronald K. Brown /Evidence presented their 2024 New York season January 16 through 21 at the Joyce Theater. The nine-member ensemble offered two works Walking Out the Dark (2001) and Torch (2012). The program provided an overview of the range and diversity of choreographer Brown and his company in what is best described as an American artist’s declaration of his diasporic roots. Continue reading
1/3/23 O&A NYC DANCE REVIEW: The Genius of Alvin Ailey
By Walter Rutledge
Another bout of Covid (our third slow dance) prevented me from seeing the new works presented during the first and second weeks of the Ailey season. When Covid and I finished our Rumba, I attended an All-Ailey matinee featuring four works, Night Creature, Cry, Survivors and Revelations. Continue reading
12/31/23 O&A NYC SUNDAY AFTERNOON JAZZ: Miles Davis- We Three Kings
A special Miles Davis moment when he performed We Three Kings. Continue reading
12/15/23 O&A NYC SONG OF THE DAY: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Sheku Kanneh-Mason is a British cellist who won the 2016 BBC Young Musician award. He was the first Black musician to win the competition since its launch in 1978. On May 19, 2018, at age 19, he played at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (under the direction of Chrisopher Warren-Green). As of 2021, Kanneh-Mason plays a Matteo Godfriller cello that was made in 1700. Continue reading
11/29/23 O&A NYC WILDIN OUT WEDNESDAY: Whoopi Goldberg- Direct From Broadway, 1984 – 1985, (originally – Spook Show)
In 1983 Whoopi Goldberg (Caryn Elaine Johnson) created The Spook Show, a one-woman show composed of different character monologues. Director Mike Nichols offered to take the show to Broadway. Whoopi Goldberg: Direct from Broadway premiered on October 24, 1984 and ran until March 10, 1985, for a total of 156 performances. Continue reading
11/27/23 HOLLYWOOD MONDAY- REVIEW: RUSTIN
By Alex Smith Jr.
I went to an advance screening of the film RUSTIN last night (Oct. 12, 2023). It was opening the 35th Anniversary of the LGBTQ+ Annual Film Festival here in NYC. This film is a triumph plain and simple. I am trying to hold back from using to many superlatives to lavish on this film. Continue reading
