12/25/17 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: The Nutcracker- New York City Ballet (1993)

The Nutcracker, also known as George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, is a 1993 American Christmas musical film based on Peter Martin’s stage production and directed by Emile Ardolino.  The film stars Darci Kistler, Damain Woetzel, Kyra Nichols, Bart Robinson Cook, Macaulay Culkin, Jessica Lynn Cohen, Wendy Whelan, Margaret Tracey, Gen Horiuchi, Tom Gold and the New York City Ballet.  Continue reading

12/12/17 O&A NYC 12 DAYS OF NUTCRACKER: Royal Opera Ballet- Coffee (Arabian Dance)

Royal Opera Ballet’s The Nutcracker features a sensual Coffee (Arabian Dance) a pas de quatre. Continue reading

11/28/17 O&A NYC DANCE: Ailey Company To Dance George Faison’s Suite Otis At Gala

By Walter Rutledge

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 Archimedean 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.

11/7/18 O&A NYC DANCE: Bill Bojangle Robinson – Stair Dance from Harlem Is Heaven (1932)

The Stair Dance featured in Harlem Is Heaven (1932): one of the first movies to ever feature an all-black cast, this film also boasts one of the earliest recorded versions of Bill Robinson’s famous stair dance routine, where he tapped up and down two flights of five steps joined by a shared platform. Continue reading

10/28/17 O&A NYC IT’S SATURDAY ANYTHING GOES EXTRA- DANCE: Top 20 Soul Train Dancers of All Time

Soul Train dancers taught the world how to boogie in platform shoes, a huge Afros and bell bottom polyester pants while looking very so cool. The alumni include Shalamar members Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel, and let’s not forget the Asian girl.  Continue reading

9/4/17 O&A NYC DANCE: Arthur Mitchell- Dance Pioneer

Arthur Mitchell, pioneering ballet dancer, artistic director and choreographer has recently secured his achieves with Columbia University’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Continue reading

8/18/17 O&A NYC SATURDAY MORNING CONCERT: The Magic of Dance

Reflections by Margot Fonteyn with Mikhail Baryshnikov, London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Dance Theater of Harlem the film includes dance history and fascinating facts. Continue reading

8/19/17 O7A NYC GOSPEL SUNDAY: Mourner’s Bench- Talley Beatty Choreographer

mourn2

Talley Beatty choreographed and performed Mourner’s Bench in 1947. It represents the anguish and loss for former slaves, now free men, killed during the Reconstruction Era at the beginning of the rise of the Klu Klux Klan. Beatty explained to me, “People were murdered by the Klan and at daybreak their relatives would find their bodies in the fields still covered in the morning dew.”

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7/14/17 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Legendary Tap Dancers Honor Sammy Davis, Jr. at Kennedy Center Honors (1987)

Legendary tap dancer Sammy Davis, Jr. received a special performance at Kennedy Center Honors (1987) by his legendary tap dance peers The Nicholas Brothers (Harold & Fayard),  Chuck Green, Jimmy Slyde, and ‘Sandman’ Sims.

LEGENDARY TAP DANCERS HONOR SAMMY DAVIS, JR. AT KENNEDY CENTER HONORS

7/4/17 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Stars And Stripes- George Balanchine (New York City Ballet)

George Balanchine created Stars And Stripes  in 1958 to the marching band music of John Philip Sousa. The ballet evokes Fourth of July parades and it’s is one of several of Balanchine salutes to his adoptive country. Continue reading