Dancers Valentina Kozlova and Sven Toorvald performs choreographer Margo Sappington‘s Rodin inspired duet The Kiss Continue reading
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Category: Choreography
4/22/23 O&A NYC FILM REVIEW: An American Ballet Story- The Harkness Ballet
By Walter Rutledge
An American Ballet Story is the long-awaited documentary about the rise and fall of the Harkness Ballet. The company and school had an almost mythical two-decade impact on dance and helped changed the artform forever. The 94-minute documentary, which was seven years in the making, tells the unvarnished story of the now defunct and largely forgotten Harkness Ballet of New York. Continue reading
4/18/23 O&A NYC MORE HARKNESS STORIES: Margo Sappington
By Margo Sappington
Vicente Nebrada called me in 1973 because he had seen my ballet “Weewis” which I choreographed for the Joffrey Ballet. It was a ballet for 3 couples set to a commissioned score for rock band and chamber orchestra. He said the Harkness Ballet needed something like that for their repertoire and I said, “Well, I do have something else in mind.” He stated that would be up to Mrs. Harkness and I would need to discuss it with her.
4/15/23 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Lawrence Rhodes- Beginning of the Harkness Ballet
Larry Rhodes discusses the events leading to the formation of the Harkness Ballet in an excerpt from the upcoming documentary An American Ballet Story. The story about the all too short life of the Harkness Ballet, will have its New York live screening premiere on April 20th at the New York Public Library Performing Arts – Bruno Walter Auditorium. O&A NYC Magazine Editor-in-Chief Walter Rutledge will moderate the post screening Q and A. Continue reading
4/10/23 O&A NYC MORE HARKNESS STORIES: Lawrence Leritz- I’ve Been Around
I’ve Been Around (Excerpt from upcoming book of the same name)
By Lawrence Leritz
I arrived in NYC on a Sunday afternoon during the intense summer heat of early July, 1974. David Howard, co-director of Harkness House, recommended that I stay at The East End Hotel, a rundown boarding hotel on the East River near Harkness House, which was located on East 75th off Fifth Avenue. Most of the dancers were there for the six-week intensive summer session.
4/7/23 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Ballet For Life: Harkness Ballet- Finis Jhung
In the dance film autobiography Ballet For Life: Harkness Ballet former dance and acclaimed teacher Finis Jhung reminisces about his years with the Harkness Ballet where he reached the pinnacle in his career and discovered Buddhism, which dramatically changed the course of his life. Continue reading
3/27/23 O&A NYC MORE HARKNESS STORIES: Luc Louis de Lairesse- I Cherish Those Days
I Cherish Those Days
By Luc Louis de Lairesse
Now 44 years ago, Nikita Talin (director) and Rebekah Harkness invited me teach and choreograph for what grew into the Harkness Dance Theatre. The next spring of 1980, Mrs. Harkness, in a private meeting, arranged for my working permit as her administrator, Mr. Bartwink, called the White House. I was impressed to say the least! Continue reading
2/24/23 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY- CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Rainbow Round My Shoulder- Donald McKayle with Mary Hinkson
Donald McKayle’s 1959 masterwork, Rainbow Round My Shoulder, is acclaimed as a modern dance classic. A searing dramatic narrative, it is set on a chain gang in the American south where prisoners work, breaking rock from “can see to can’t see.” Their aspirations for freedom come in the guise of a woman, first as a vision then as a remembered sweetheart, mother, and wife. The songs that accompany their arduous labor are rich in polyphony and tell a bitter, sardonic, and tragic story. It was created for the Donald McKayle Dance Company, and has been in the repertoire of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Batsheva Dance Company and Dayton Contemporary Dance, among others. The cast in the video excerpt includes Donald McKayle and Mary Hinkson. Continue reading
2/20/23 O&A NYC DANCE REVIEW: Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Dance Theater of Brooklyn
By Walter Rutledge
Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Dance Theater of Brooklyn (JGCO) presented Remembering… on February 17th and 18th at BAM Fisher, Fishman Space. The 70-minute one act was an extremely enlightening audience friendly black history celebration. This multi-media event is a perfect example of art as education. Continue reading
2/13/23 O&A NYC DIVA ALERT!!!: Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show
Rihanna opened the show with a rousing rendition of her hit song, “Bitch Better Have My Money” and then pumped up the crowd with her dance hits “Where Have You Been” and “Only Girl (In The World).” She kept the energy up with new arrangements of “We Found Love” and “Rude Boy.”
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