Misty Copeland, Robert Fairchild and members of the Ailey Company performed in honor of Carmen de Lavallade during the Kennedy Center Honors. Continue reading
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Category: Dance History
12/29/17 O&A NYC DANCE: Carmen de Lavallade- Kennedy Center Honoree
Carmen de Lavallade, the legendary ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher, who is among the honorees feted for their illustrious careers by the Kennedy Center on Sunday December 24th. de Lavallade talks with correspondent Rita Braver about bringing modern dance to new levels; her marriage to dancer-director Geoffrey Holder; and the bittersweet memories of a life danced to the fullest. Continue reading
12/25/17 O&A NYC DANCE: Judith Jamison, Kevin Rotardier, and George Faison Perform Revelations Excerpts At The Hollywood Palace (1968)
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performed two excerpts from his masterwork Revelations on the weekly television variety show The Hollywood Palace (1968). The episode hosted by Diahann Carroll helped give the then fledgling dance company national attention. The cast included Judith Jamison, George Faison and Kelvin Rotardier. Continue reading
12/25/17 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: The Nutcracker- New York City Ballet (1993)
The Nutcracker, also known as George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, is a 1993 American Christmas musical film based on Peter Martin’s stage production and directed by Emile Ardolino. The film stars Darci Kistler, Damain Woetzel, Kyra Nichols, Bart Robinson Cook, Macaulay Culkin, Jessica Lynn Cohen, Wendy Whelan, Margaret Tracey, Gen Horiuchi, Tom Gold and the New York City Ballet. Continue reading
12/22/17 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY- 3 DAYS OF NUTCRACKER: Baryshnikov and Kirkland- Grand Pas de Deux
Mikhail Baryshnikov & Gelsey Kirkland perform the Nutcracker, Grand Pas de Deux with American Ballet Theatre (1977)
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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
