2/9/26 O&A NYC DANCE BY WALTER RUTLEDGE: Meet Deven Crawford – Unity Through Community

Meet Deven Crawford a 19-year-old Las Vegas Nevada native who is living his dream.  The former dance major at the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts happened to meet Jamel Gaines at the 2024 IABD (International Association of Black in Dance) conference. Today Crawford is a sophomore studying dance at Marymount College in Manhattan and one of the newest members of the Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Dance Company (JGCO). Continue reading

1/30/26 O&A NYC DANCE BY WALTER RUTLEDGE: Unity Through Community – Jamel Gaines and MAAFA: The Capture

By Walter Rutledge

Dance Theatre of. Harlem founder Arthur Mitchell told me, “It’s easy to choreograph on professionals try choreographing on regular people”. He was implying that the dance maker must rely more on creativity than on established steps and patterns. Jamel Gaines has accepted this challenge. Instead of using members of the Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Dance Theater, he has constructed a large intergenerational cast of church constituents.

On Sunday February 1st the Creative Outlet founder/artistic director will present his staging and choreography in MAAFA: The Capture. The Brainchild of Bishop, Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood, the 9am free performance at Mt. Piscah Baptist Church, located at 167-10 137th Ave in Jamaica, Queens, will herald in Black History Month. MAAFA: The Capture is a twenty-minute dance theatre vignette depicting the African American experience.

O&A NYC Magazine Editor-in-Chief Walter Rutledge attended recent rehearsals and watched Gaines put his neophyte cast through the paces. These rehearsals were equal parts inspiration and perspiration. A true old school director Gaines rehearsals are both exacting and exhausting. And Gaines high energy and cajoling demeanor effortlessly brings out the movement shapes and dramatic artistry. Don’t take my word here’s a sneak peek into the rehearsal process.

MAAFA: The Capture rehearsal

 The black church has always been the source of not only inspiration but the hallmark for information and education. MAAFA: The Capture captures African American history in an entertaining and enlightening dance theater group endeavor. Unity through community.

 

 

 

1/16/26 O&A NYC DANCE BY WALTER RUTLEDGE: THE HOLY BLUES INTERVIEW – Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Samantha Figgins and Chalvar Monteiro

“My roots are also in the Gospel church, the Gospel churches of the south where I grew up…holy blues—paeans to joy, anthems to the human spirit.” These words written by Alvin Ailey were the impetus for The Holy Blues, a collaborative choreographic endeavor by choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and emerging dancemakers Samantha Figgins and Chalvar Monteiro. Continue reading

11/11/25 O&A NYC DANCE BY WALTER RUTLEDGE: Paul Taylor Dance Company Gala Recap

Taylor Time is in full swing. The Paul Taylor Dance Company held their Gala performance tonight at New York State Theater in Lincoln Center. The evening presented two world premieres by Resident Choreographers Lauren Lovette and Robert Battle and the Taylor classic Sunset. This is a quick recap of the evening. A review(s) will follow, but we wanted to keep you in the know. Continue reading

11/4/25 O&A NYC DANCE BY WALTER RUTLEDGE: Paul Taylor Dance Company Sneak Preview

The Paul Taylor Dance Company opened its New York City season tonight in State Theater at Lincoln Center. I very really can just watch a performance without a critical eye. This evening the Taylor Company indulged me with a ticket to tonight’s performance. Review(s) will follow, but it would be remiss of me not to give you a sneak preview of the Taylor season. Continue reading

10/31/25 O&A NYC DANCE BY WALTER RUTLEDGE: A Conversation with Robert Battle

Its Taylor Time! The Paul Taylor Dance Company returns to Lincoln Center’s State Theater November 4 through 23. The company will present a total of eighteen works including the New York premiere of choreographer Hope Boykin and world premieres by resident choreographers Lauren Lovett and Robert Battle. Out and About NYC Magazine Editor- in Chief Walter Rutledge and Battle sat down for a long overdue conversation about his new work Under the Rhythm, his second work for the Taylor Company. Continue reading