8/29/20 O&A NYC GOING BACK TO AFRICA WITH WALESTYLEZ: 2Baba ft Wizkid – Opo

Innocent Ujah Idibia known by his stage name 2Baba is a Afrobeat artist,  record producer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, humanitarian, and activist.Prior to July 2014, he went by the stage name 2face.He is one of the most decorated and successful Afro pop artists in Africa. Continue reading

8/28/20 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Creative Outlet Offers Free Outdoor Classes

By Walter Rutledge

The bright late morning sun was still drying the dew off the grass, but Fort Green Park was already bustling with energy. As I climbed the white marble stairs the sound of music greeted me halfway up. Patiently waiting at the base of the Prison Ship Martyrs’ Monument was Jamel Gaines, a tall man sporting a retro curly “fro”.

Soon the large plaza in front of the monument begin to fill with dancers of all ages, shapes and sizes. Gaines, the founder of Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn, has spent the more than 25 years building and cultivating the performing arts in Brooklyn. Long before Starbucks, trendy bars and little ugly dogs found Brooklyn’s urban landscape; Gaines had established an artistic foothold in the Fort Green section at 138 S Oxford Street.

If you have ever visited the Creative Outlet school, it has a feeling of a community/village. Parents monitor classes and assist with moving younger students between classrooms, there is a lunch concession that offers affordable hot meals and healthy snacks to the participants and family members. The focused classes resembled the most disciplined arts academy; the biggest difference of was the amount of melanin.

The pandemic put an end to the communal learning approach, and the use of traditional performing venues. Creative Outlet was forced to close its studios, but not suspend activities. Staying true to form Gaines began teaching free classes outdoors at Fort Green Park three days a week.

 
Creative Outlet Free Dance Class

On Thursday and Friday at 6pm and on Saturday at 11am Creative Outlet offers free classes dubbed as, “Culturally Healing and Movement Classes”. There are classes for all ages including a fun jazz-based movement class for children on Saturday morning. One of the most reassuring elements about these classes is that Gaines has brought Creative Outlet’s feeling of community with him. The first outdoor class had only six attendees; now there are over forty artists of all ages.

In addition to dance classes the Creative Outlet Queens, an interdisciplinary and multi-generational performing ensemble that also rehearses at Fort Green Park. The “Queens” will perform at Peace One Love a Black Lives Matter celebration on Saturday August 29th from 2-5pm at the Black Lives Matter Mural at Restoration Plaza (Fulton Street between New York Ave. and Brooklyn Ave). Although this is an outdoor event please practice social distancing whenever possible and please wear a mask.  

8/25/20 O&A NYC THE MORNING FUNNIES: Barack & Michelle Obama Sing November 

Sing and dance along with Michelle and Barack Obama from now until that big, beautiful Blue Wave crests on November 3rd, ushering in a new era of love, peace and prosperity! Yes, it IS possible if we come together and support Joe Biden and others who stand for truth and justice. VOTE — and thank you in advance for the landslide. Continue reading

8/24/20 O&A NYC DANCE… AND MORE: Peace One Love- Bringing Brooklyn Together

By Walter Rutledge

Dance has always been a catalyst for change. In 1936 Martha Graham created her masterwork Chronicles as a weapon against the rising menace of fascism in Germany. In 1959 Donald McKayle’s Rainbow Round My Shoulder evoked the hopelessness and inequality of Black men on a southern prison chain gang. On Saturday August 29 Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn (also known as Creative Outlet or just C.O.) will also use the power of dance to heal a community with Peace One Love, an afternoon of the arts celebrating the spirit of the now internationally recognized Black Lives Matter movement.   Continue reading

8/21/20 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s Shelter

Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s Shelter is a passionate statement about the physical and emotional deprivation of homeless people.  Continue reading

8/17/20 O&A NYC DANCE: Ailey Celebrates Ellington (1974)

Alvin Ailey first began sketching out a suite of Ellington works on the newly formed the Repertory Workshop of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center which later became known as Ailey II. Continue reading

8/13/20 O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Prince and Beyoncé perform Prince Medley (2004 Grammy Awards)

Beyoncé had a very good Feb. 8, 2004. She won five out of the six Grammy awards for which she’d been nominated, including Best R&B Song with “Crazy In Love” — and she spent five spirited minutes performing with Prince.
Continue reading

8/12/20 O&A NYC WaleStylez HIP HOP WEDNESDAY: Lecrae- Deep End

Lecrae Devaughn Moore born October 9, 1979, mononymously known as Lecrae, is a  Christian Hip Hop recording artist, songwriter, music executive and actor.  Continue reading

8/12/20 O&A NYC WILDIN OUT WEDNESDAY: House Of Latex Project PSA (1994)

 This Public Service Announcement was created in 1994 for the Ballroom Community one year after the first ever House of Latex Ball in 1993. Continue reading