Mikhail Baryshnikov & Gelsey Kirkland perform the Nutcracker, Grand Pas de Deux with American Ballet Theatre (1977)
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Category: Dance History
12/18/17 O&A NYC 7 DAYS OF NUTCRACKER: Kirov Ballet – The Prince and the Sugarplum Fairy
The Kirov Ballet Theater in Nutcracker (1994) ballet featuring Viktor Baranov (Nutcracker/Prince), Larisa Lezhnina (Masha/Princess) and Piotr Russanov (Drosselmeyer/Russian Dancer). Continue reading
12/12/17 O&A NYC 12 DAYS OF NUTCRACKER: Royal Opera Ballet- Coffee (Arabian Dance)
Royal Opera Ballet’s The Nutcracker features a sensual Coffee (Arabian Dance) a pas de quatre. Continue reading
12/5/17 O&A NYC DANCE: A Conversation With Michael Jackson Jr.
By Walter Rutledge
Michael Jackson, Jr. has spent his career working in the Black dance genre. The gifted dancer, choreographer, teacher, and this season’s Ailey “poster God” began his dance training at age 14 at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C. under the direction of Charles Augins. His irrepressible curiosity, athletic physique and pliant musculature help Jackson Jr. quickly excel. Continue reading
11/28/17 O&A NYC DANCE: Ailey Company To Dance George Faison’s Suite Otis At Gala
By Walter Rutledge
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will present an excerpt of George Faison’s masterwork Suite Otis at their New York City Center season opening night gala, Wednesday, November 29 2017. Choreographed in 1971 for the George Faison Universal Dance Experience the work joined the Ailey repertoire in 1977. 40 years after it’s Ailey debut Suite Otis continues to excite and entertain audiences with verve, aplomb, fleet footed technique and imaginative Archimedean storytelling.
The company will perform the finale section set to Otis Redding’s Tenderness. The full cast section reintroduces the dancers creating a visually exciting yet compelling epilog. Throughout the work Faison (the imperial storyteller) does what every choreographer should do- invites us into his vision and delivers with clarity, focus and impeccable choreographic timing.
Balletomanes still long for the return of old fashion honest storytelling- the hallmark of Ailey’s original company. In Suite Otis Faison’s articulate use of the dance narrative genre captures the majesty and universal humanity of both Otis Redding’s music and the black dance experience. This gave him a voice in an era when Black American dance and culture had started to becoming a global force.
Suite Otis- George Faison
What Faison did (and continues to do) is to keep the dance/theatre aesthetic in the forefront of the arts conversation. Tenderness will be performed for one performance only on Wednesday, November 29 for tickets and a complete schedule of the five-week New York City season visit ailey.org.
11/7/18 O&A NYC DANCE: Bill Bojangle Robinson – Stair Dance from Harlem Is Heaven (1932)
The Stair Dance featured in Harlem Is Heaven (1932): one of the first movies to ever feature an all-black cast, this film also boasts one of the earliest recorded versions of Bill Robinson’s famous stair dance routine, where he tapped up and down two flights of five steps joined by a shared platform. Continue reading
10/28/17 O&A NYC IT’S SATURDAY ANYTHING GOES EXTRA- DANCE: Top 20 Soul Train Dancers of All Time
Soul Train dancers taught the world how to boogie in platform shoes, a huge Afros and bell bottom polyester pants while looking very so cool. The alumni include Shalamar members Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel, and let’s not forget the Asian girl. Continue reading
10/28/17 O&A NYC GOING BACK TO AFRICA WITH WaleStylez: Top 10 Best Traditional African Dances
African traditional Dances refers mainly to the dances performed by the cultural communities found in continent. Communities use these dances to teach, to socialize, ceremonies and for celebrating festivals and moaning funerals while Some dances are exclusively used for spiritual or religious practices. Continue reading
10/20/17 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Diana Vishneva- The Rubies
Diana Vishneva performs the Rubies section from George Balanchine’s Jewels. Continue reading
9/16/17 O&A NYC DANCE: Dance Documentary- The Alvin Ailey Company: Beyond The Dance (Paris 2005)
Dance Documentary- The Alvin Ailey Company: Beyond The Dance (Paris 2005) featuring Judith Jamison, Masazumi Chaya, Matthew Rushing, Glenn Allen Sims, Amos Mechanic Jr., Calvin Hunt, Dwana Smallwood, Hope Boykin, Renee Robinson and excepts from the extensive and diverse repertory. Continue reading
