1/4/22 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Lil Nas X on Montero

Lil Nas X had a hit with his breakout single Old Town Road, about a horse-loving hip hop cowboy. But for his debut album, Lil Nas X wrote songs about his real life as a gay man, and called the album by his real first name, Montero. The multiple-Grammy-nominee talked with correspondent Tracy Smith about reinventing himself, as his true self. Continue reading

1/3/22 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Anna Lucasta Starring Eartha Kitt and Sammy Davis Jr.

Anna Lucasta (Eartha Kitt) has been walking the streets in San Diego since being thrown out of home, at 19, by her alcoholic father, Joe (Rex Ingram). Continue reading

12/30/21 O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Vanessa Williams- Happy Days Are Here Again

What better way to start our New Year’s Eve Celebration then with Vanessa Williams rendition of Happy Days Are Here Again.  Continue reading

12/29/21 O&A NYC WITH WaleStylez DANCE PARTY: Storyboard P- Chalk Walk

By Adewale Adekanbi Jr.


Bessie Award winning performer and choreographer Storyboard P performs Chalk Walk; his interpretation of a cocaine binge. Continue reading

12/27/21 O&A NYC HEALTH AND WELLNESS: Michael B Jordan Workout And Diet

Soon the holidays will be in the rear view mirror, We will have wonderful memories of family gatherings and great  food, and for many of us our revelry is reflected in our waistline. Follow Michael B. Jordan into 2022 and you can because a “Black Panther” too. Continue reading

12/25/21 O&A NYC MERRY CHRISTMAS: The Christ Child- A Nativity Story

This new depiction of the Nativity story recounts in beautiful detail the sacred events found in the Bible about Jesus’s birth over 2,000 years ago. Journey with Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Continue reading

12/24/21 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Ailey’s 2021 Opening Night Gala

As special holiday gift from the Ailey company to you, watch the Opening Night Gala now through Dec 28. The performance honors you, our audience, our inspiration. Happy Holidays! Featuring: Robert Battle’s ‘Ella’(performed to live music by Jazzmeia Horne) and the finale of Love Stories,’ plus Bird’ Lives!, an excerpt from Alvin Ailey’s For Bird’ – With Love featuring Company member Clifton Brown with students from The Ailey School, and Mr. Ailey’s beloved Revelations. Continue reading

12/21/21 O&A NYC MILESTONES: Happy Birthday George Faison

By Walter Rutledge

There is only one George Faison! Dancer, choreographer, teacher, director, playwright, social activist, entrepreneur and friend. George has been one of my inspirations and artistic standard bearers for most of my career. In 2017 the Ailey American Dance Theater presented an excerpt of Suite Otis, his iconic tribute to Otis Redding. Faison sat down to talk about this masterwork,  experiences in the Ailey Company and his arts aesthetic. Happy Birthday George.

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 Euclidean 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.

12/15/21 O&A NYC BLACK FACTS: Hatshepsut- The Greatest Female Pharaoh

Hatshepsut was a female pharaoh of Egypt. She reigned between 1473 and 1458 B.C. Her name means “foremost of noblewomen.” Her rule was relatively peaceful and she was able to launch a building program that would see the construction of a great temple at Deir el-Bahari at Luxor. Continue reading