12/3/15 O&A NYC DANCE: Linda Celeste Sims- Pure Light

By Walter Rutledge

Ailey_Headshots_LCSims

Outstanding performers have always been the hallmark of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Dancers that consistently test the technical and artistic boundaries of modern dance remain a fundamental part of founder Alvin Ailey’s continuing legacy. Artists Carmen DeLavalallade, Dudley Williams, Judith Jamison, Miguel Godreau, Linda Kent, Sara Yarborough, Sarita Allen, Gary deLoatch, Desmond Richardson, and Renee Robinson all possessed an innate ability beyond technique, a God given gift that unfortunately cannot be taught. When the stage lights hit these special individuals it is refracted into dazing, flawless, pure light that pulls you in… moth to flame. Celeste Linda Sims is pure light. Continue reading

12/31/21 O&A NYC Shall We Dance Friday (Repost): Banda (excerpt)- Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade

Shall We Dance

safe_image.php

Geoffrey Holder’s Banda dance debuted in the 1954 Truman Capote/Harold Arlen musical House Of Flowers. Holder the Baron of The Cemetery (based on the Haitian Loa of Death Baron Samedi) and received both a performer and choreographer credit in the program. The Broadway musical takes place somewhere in the West Indies during Mardi Gras weekend. Continue reading

12/1/23 O&A SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY- WORLD AIDS DAY: Lar Lubovitch- Duet from Concerto Six Twenty-Two

Shall We Dance

image008

Duet from Concerto Six Twenty-Two is set to Concerto in A for Clarinet and Orchestra, K. 622 by  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Choreographer Lar Lubovitch premiered this work on his company, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, at the Municipal Theatre in Angers, France on December 12th 1985 on dancers Sylvain Lafortune and Edward Hillyer. The work was performed at the first Fire Island Dance Festival, which has become the annual summer fundraising centerpiece for Dancers Responding To AIDS Continue reading

5/19/15 O&A Dance: In Black and White (Excerpt from Brothers) Commemorating the Birthday of Malcolm X

malcolmX

In Black and White is an excerpt from Brothers a work about the relationships between men. This section deals with the civil right movement as seen through by Malcolm X. Performed by Hassan Blandford and Christopher Fishburn choreography by Walter Rutledge. Other sections explore the relationship between a Grandfather/Grandson and Jesus Christ and Simon of Cyrene. O&A NYC posts In Black and White to commemorate the Birthday of Malcolm X. 

Continue reading

5/6/15 O&A Dance: Chen Dance Center Presents newsteps

By Walter Rutledge

CDC_presents

Chen Dance Center presents its spring emerging choreographers series newsteps, May 7 through 9, 7:30 pm at the Chen Dance Center, 70 Mulberry Sreet, 2nd floor (corner Mulberry & Bayard in Chinatown). Founded in 1994 the bi-annual showcase, (held in the spring and fall) provides young dance makers the opportunity to present original works at different stages of development. The five choreographers were selected for the spring concerts are: Jonathan Breton, Hannah Cohen,  Bree Nasby, Janice Rosario, and Ashley Carter & Vanessa Martinez de Banos. Continue reading

3/6/15 O&A Shall We Dance Friday: Promethean Fire- Paul Taylor Dance Company

Shall We Dancehudson-valley-dance-festival-2014-paul-taylor-dance-company-02-photo-by-daniel-roberts

Promethean Fire (2002) is danced to the music of three of Leopold Stokowski’s famous Bach transcriptions (Opus 116). The ensemble work is one of Paul Taylor’s six ballets set to the music of the baroque master. This excerpt is the first movement choreographed to the celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D minor.   Continue reading

8/23/24 O&A Shall We Dance Friday: Happy Birthday Dudley Williams- Conversation with Jennifer Dunning (Part One)

By Walter Rutledge

Shall We Dance

August 18th came and went with little fanfare for Ailey dancer emeritus Dudley Williams. In 2004 Dudley became a member of theIMG_1407

On Thursday October 23, 2015 Clack Center NYC hosted A Conversation with Dudley Williams at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Bruno Walter Auditorium, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza at 6pm. Dance critic and author Jennifer Dunning talked with Williams about his career that spans almost six decades. Williams was frank, funny and informative, discussing a wide range of his experiences with some of the world’s most renowned choreographers.  Continue reading

10/11/24 O&A SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: The Fountain of Bakhchisarai Starring Galina Ulanova and Maya Plisetskaya

Shall We Dance Friday

pliset04

The Fountain of Bakhchisarai (Russian: Бахчисарайский фонтан) is a Russian ballet inspired by the 1823 poem by Alexander Pushkin of the same title. With music by Boris Asafyev and choreography by Rostislav Zakharov, the ballet premiered in Saint Petersburg, (then Leningrad) in 1934 at the Kirov Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet (now the Mariinsky Theatre). Continue reading

1/23/15 O&A Shall We Dance Friday: Maya Plisetskaya Dances Bolero (Choreography by Maurice Béjart) And The Dying Swan

Shall We Dancemed_1408733786_image

Maya Plisetskaya, Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the Bolshoi Ballet, danced Maurice Bejart’s Bolero set to the famous Ravel score in 1975. Plisetskaya created a stunning theatrical experience. What makes the piece so compelling is that although Plisetskaya may be accompanied by dozens of other dancers mirroring her movement, the first and only focus is on the prima ballerina herself.  Continue reading

11/25/14 O&A Dance: Complexion Contemporary Ballet …In The Beginning (Part 3) An Interview With Christina Johnson

By Walter Rutledge

unnamed

As Complexions Contemporary Ballet begins the second week of their two-week season tonight at the Joyce Theater we continue our conversation with Christina Johnson. The season commemorates the 20th anniversary of the company, Out and About NYC Magazine looks back through the eyes of artists who there at the beginning. Continue reading