9/6/16 O&A NYC SONG OF THE DAY: Janet- Feedback

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 Feedback, directed by Saam Farahmand, was filmed over two days in December 2007, on a sound-stage located in New York City. Jackson approached Farahmand with a “futuristic” galactic concept, which he created based on Jackson’s vision.  Continue reading

8/15/16 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Gene Kelly- Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

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Singin’ in the Rain (1952) musical comedy film classic directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. The film starred Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds. Continue reading

8/12/16 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Natalia Makarova- Dying Swan

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“Her performances set standards of artistry and aristocracy of dance which mark her as the finest ballerina of her generation in the West”- The History of Dance. Continue reading

5/20/16 O&A NYC SHAll WE DANCE FRIDAY: Sherezade (2002)- Kirov Ballet Feauturing Svetlana Zakharova and Farukh Ruzimatov

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Scheherazade premiered on June 4, 1910, at the Opéra Garnier in Paris by the Ballets Russes. The choreography for the ballet was by Michel Fokine and the libretto was from Fokine and Léon Bakst. This ballet provoked exoticism by showing a masculine Golden Slave seducing Zobeide who is one of the many wives of the Shah. Continue reading

5/15/16 O&A NYC GOSPEL SUNDAY: Gospelfest 2016

By Walter Rutledge 

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Gospelfest 2016 – Honor Thy Mother took place on Saturday May 7th, 2016 at the Prudential Center (25 Lafayette Street, Newark, NJ). The event produced a two-fold celebration; it is both the ultimate gospel music extravaganza and a wonderful tribute to our mothers. The Mother’s Day Eve event has become a day long gospel event for the entire family and community.  Continue reading

(Repost) 2/26/21 O&A NYC DANCE EXTRA: A Conversation with George Faison- The Creative Process

By Walter Rutledge

“George Faison is one of my favorite people. Choreographer, director, performer, teacher, activist and cultural icon Faison’s story is larger than life. Throughout his five decades of artistic exploration he has maintained a keen eye, a childlike curiosity and a frolicsome sense of humor; which is reflected through his art and life. This interview was originally posted on May 6, 2016 and was filmed at the Faison Firehouse.”- W. Rutledge

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Tony and Emmy Award winning choreographer George Faison will present a new work entitled Kingdom Come at the McDonald’s Gospelfest – Live at Prudential Center (25 Lafayette Street, Newark, NJ) on Saturday May 7th. The ensemble work is an inspiring, and uplifting ballet set to a haunting score of ‎Jerome Olds. Throughout Faison’s career the humanistic quality of his work, and his ability to reach beyond the footlights and touch an audience has become his signature.    Continue reading

12/11/23 O&A NYC Song Of The Day: Vanessa Williams – Go Tell It On The Mountain/ Mary Had A Baby (1993)

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Vanessa Williams sings a medley of “Mary Had a Baby” and “Go Tell It on the Mountain” on the TV special David Foster’s Christmas Album musical staging choreography by Walter Painter dancers Paula Brown and Darrel Wright  (NBC, December 10, 1993).  Continue reading

12/31/21 O&A NYC Shall We Dance Friday (Repost): Banda (excerpt)- Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade

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Geoffrey Holder’s Banda dance debuted in the 1954 Truman Capote/Harold Arlen musical House Of Flowers. Holder the Baron of The Cemetery (based on the Haitian Loa of Death Baron Samedi) and received both a performer and choreographer credit in the program. The Broadway musical takes place somewhere in the West Indies during Mardi Gras weekend. Continue reading

12/1/23 O&A SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY- WORLD AIDS DAY: Lar Lubovitch- Duet from Concerto Six Twenty-Two

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Duet from Concerto Six Twenty-Two is set to Concerto in A for Clarinet and Orchestra, K. 622 by  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Choreographer Lar Lubovitch premiered this work on his company, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, at the Municipal Theatre in Angers, France on December 12th 1985 on dancers Sylvain Lafortune and Edward Hillyer. The work was performed at the first Fire Island Dance Festival, which has become the annual summer fundraising centerpiece for Dancers Responding To AIDS Continue reading

3/21/15 O&A Dance- REVIEW: Ailey II- Breakthrough

By Walter Rutledge

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Ailey II opened the 2015 New York City season at the Joyce Theater with the world premiere of Breakthrough by French-born choreographer Manuel Vignoulle. The full company work takes us to a dark world where emotions and relationship are forbidden. Vignoulle’s abstract narrative was the highlight of the company’s first independent season.

Good choreographic structure and strong use of imagery assist to immediately establish his environment/altered reality. Moving in a mechanized uniformity the performers convey a sense of conformity. Vignoulle uses patterns, and isolated movements (such as heads swaying from side to side as the dancers “zombie” walk upstage) to enhance the automaton-like precision.

Occasionally individuals emerge, only to submit back to the group dynamic. These departures are manifested in almost spastic, abrupt movements that exude a sense of anxiety and then suppression. Throughout the opening section there is an underlying and deliberate tension that smolders, instead of explodes; that produced a kind of visual foreplay.

The duet that followed, featuring Shay Bland and Terrell Spence, released the pent-up tension from the preceding section. The costume of pants and turtleneck tops were striped away on stage revealing black briefs and a bra. The ensuing duet was a continuous ribbon of movement. Intertwining, cascading and caressing, at one point Bland walked up Terrell’s back and the stood on his shoulders as he rose from kneeling to standing.

The section that followed is best described as the running section. The ensemble returned clad in briefs and bras and literally ran for their lives. One of the most impressive devises was reversing the stage perspective. Vignoulle removed the ensemble who were running behind Deidre Rogan, but when she yelled, “Wait…. wait”, it became clear she was the one left behind; and soon captured by David Adrian Freeland Jr.

Freeland covered her head under his shirt, and both danced blind under the garment. The duet evoked a feeling of blind terror and victimization. It ended with Freeland exiting leaving Rogan left spent and discarded.

The ensemble returned in their opening attire for a finale section, which served as a combination of a resolution and epilog. The focused physicality built to a coda-like climax, ending with a gravity/momentum induced closing statement. Vignoulle successfully presented a complete statement that balanced unadorned economy with rich, yet directed imagery; the true benchmark of storytelling. Breakthrough is a breakout.

To see an interview with Choreographer Manuel Vignoulle and Ailey II dancer Shay Bland click below:

Shay Bland
http://outandaboutnycmag.com/31615-oa-ailey-ii-presents-the-world-premiere-of-breakthrough/