1/31/25 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Educates Through Dance

By Walter Rutledge

Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet will commemorate the company’s 30th anniversary with a three-day New York City season Friday, February 13 through Sunday, February 15 at BAM Fisher Fishman Space. The season will offer Remembering, a program that reflects Gaines continued commitment to educate and enlighten the next generation through the dance theatre genre. Continue reading

1/24/25 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Ailey Celebrates Ellington

Shall We Dance Friday

Ailey Celebrates Ellington premiered in 1974 on CBS. Narrated by R&B legend Gladys Knight the television special showcases the collaborative bond between choreographer Alvin Ailey and jazz music royalty Duke Ellington. Continue reading

1/17/25 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Happy Birthday Debbie Allen!!!

By Walter Rutledge


Happy Birthday to one of the dance world’s icons Debbie Allen. We had the opportunity to talk to Ms. Allen about a wide range of her life experiences from segregated dance classes in her native Texas, to heartless rejection and finally coming into her own in New York City. We pay tribute to a living dance legend and activist born on January 16th.- Walter Rutledge

In 2015 O&A NYC Editor-in-Chief Walter Rutledge interviewed Debbie Allen at the Faison Firehouse Theater for Dance Noir Magazine (DNM). The print article would discuss her relationship with Katherine Dunham. The video was produced as visual notes for the upcoming Dunham article. When the magazine suspended publication, out of respect for DNM Founder/Editor-in-Chief Carol Lloyd, we held the material with hopes of eventually printing the article for DNM. After eight years Ms. Allen’s words remain relevant, inspiring and informative and should be shared. We call this first installment Empathy. Continue reading

1/10/25 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Earl “Snake Hips” Tucker

Earl “Snakehips” Tucker  was an African American dancer and entertainer. Also known as the “Human Boa Constrictor”, he acquired the nickname “snakehips” via the dance he popularized in Harlem in the 1920s called the “snakehips” Continue reading

1/3/25 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Nureyev- Ballet’s Most Incredible Story

Shall We Dance FridayNureyev- Ballet’s Most Incredible Story is a striking and moving documentary from BAFTA nominated directors Jacqui and David Morris traces the extraordinary life of Rudolf Nureyev. From his birth in the 5th class carriage of a trans-Siberian train, to his dramatic leap to freedom in the West at the height of the Cold War, and unprecedented adulation as the most famous dancer in the world. Continue reading

12/20/24 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Meet The First Black Star Of New York City Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker’

Shall We Dance Friday

 The 2024 New York City Ballet’s production of  The Nutcracker has cast Charlotte Nebres, a black dancer, to play Marie for the first time in the productions 70 year history. Continue reading

12/13/24 O&A NYC DANCE: A Conversation with Lloyd Knight -The Drama (A Self Portrait)

By Walter Rutledge

Lloyd Knight’s solo dance work, The Drama will have its preview public performances Friday, December 13, 7pm, and Saturday, December 14, 6pm, at the Martha Graham Studio Theater, 55 Bethune Street, 11th Floor, in Manhattan’s West Village/Meatpacking district. Commissioned by the Guggenheim’s Works & Process The Drama is being presented on conjunction with Fall 2024 Studio Series and will have it official premiere on January 13th, 2025, 7pm, at the Guggenheim Museum. Continue reading

12/6/24 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: The Nutcracker Ballet- Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland (1977)

Shall We Dance

nutcracker-baryshnikov

During the 1977 Christmas season, CBS brought Mikhail Baryshnikov’s highly acclaimed American Ballet Theatre production of Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet The Nutcracker to television. The production has remains the most popular and most often shown television production of the work in the U.S.  Mikhail Baryshnikov performed the title role, with Gelsey Kirkland as Clara.
Continue reading

12/9/16 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: The Nutcracker Ballet- Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland (1977)

Shall We Dance

nutcracker-baryshnikov

During the 1977 Christmas season, CBS brought Mikhail Baryshnikov’s highly acclaimed American Ballet Theatre production of Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet The Nutcracker to television. The production has remains the most popular and most often shown television production of the work in the U.S.  Mikhail Baryshnikov performed the title role, with Gelsey Kirkland as Clara.
Continue reading

11/29/24 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Rudolf Nureyev’s Nutcracker (1968)

Shall We Dance

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This historic performance from 1968 captures choreographer/performer Rudolf Nureyev at the peak of his career. Filmed at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the ballet features artists of the Royal Ballet including Wayne Sleep, Jillian Gibbs and Merle Park as Clara. Continue reading