Sophisticated Ladies starring Gregory Hines, Hinton Battle, Phyllis Hyman, Greg Burge and Paula Kelly is a musical revue based on the music of Duke Ellington. The musical opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on March 1, 1981 and closed on January 2, 1983 after 767 performances and fifteen previews. Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
Philadanco celebrated the 45th anniversary of the company Friday, April 17 through Sunday, April 19 at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. The program entitled Having Our Say…The Voices of Women Choreographers was an homage to the talents of female artists. The concert featured the work of four dance makers Diane McIntyre, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Bebe Miller and Dawn Marie Bazemore; and a tribute to performing artist, the late Mary Hinkson Jackson. Continue reading
Donald McKayle’s 1959 masterwork, Rainbow Round My Shoulder, is acclaimed as a modern dance classic. A searing dramatic narrative, it is set on a chain gang in the American south where prisoners work, breaking rock from “can see to can’t see.” Their aspirations for freedom come in the guise of a woman, first as a vision then as a remembered sweetheart, mother, and wife. The songs that accompany their arduous labor are rich in polyphony and tell a bitter, sardonic, and tragic story. It was created for the Donald McKayle Dance Company, and has been in the repertoire of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Batsheva Dance Company and Dayton Contemporary Dance, among others. The cast in the video excerpt includes Donald McKayle and Mary Hinkson. Continue reading
Samuel George “Sammy” Davis, Jr. was born on December 8, 1925. He was an African- American entertainer who broke many barriers and paved the way for entertainers in all disciplines. Davis was primarily a dancer and singer, but he also received acclaim as an actor of stage and screen, musician, and impressionist. Davis died at age 64 in 1990, after spending 61 years in the profession he loved. Continue reading
Trina Parks was born on December 26, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York. Her father Charles Frazier, was a renowned tenor saxophonist with Cab Calloway’s orchestra. Parks majored in modern dance at the New York High School of Performing Arts. She also studied with Katherine Dunham and subsequently joined Dunham’s professional dance company in 1964. Additional concert dance credits include Donald McKayle, Anna Sokolow, Talley Beatty, Geoffrey Holder, Eleo Pomare and Rod Rodgers. Parks performed in numerous Broadway productions as a vocalist and dancer, including a lead role in the 10th anniversary touring production of Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies. She was the first African- American Bond girl Thumper in the 1971 James Bond classic Diamonds are Forever. Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
Martha Graham once said, “Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.” The reason truly memorable performances reach across the footlight to connect with the audience, is because the performer is imbued with something extra. It is an almost unexplainable sharing that takes place from one soul, one spirit, to the members of audience. It is an honesty that transcends artistic discipline, language and occasionally even time. When I think of artists who have this special gift of communication, I think of Lloyd Knight
Knight is a soloist with the Martha Graham Dance Company. During his seven-year association with the company he has demonstrated a stalwart commitment and dedication to his craft and artistry. He returns to the stage this season after a year of recovering from an injury. Knight approached his physical rehabilitation with same resolute determination that has distinguished him as an artist on the ascent, and he is back this season performing the choreography he describes simply as “art”.
Born in England Knight was reared in Miami, Florida. In middle school a teacher got him to try a dance class, and he was hooked. He trained at the Miami Conservatory of Ballet, and later attended the renowned New World School of the Arts where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Knight adapted well to the long hours and rigorous training at New World School of the Arts, and he performed leading roles in Jose Limon’s There is a Time, Merce Cunningham’s Inlets II, and Donald McKayle’s Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder. It was also at the New World School of the Arts he was introduced to the choreography and technique of Martha Graham.
His strong technique, pliant physique and natural stage presence gave him the opportunity to excel in many styles of dance; but his inner muse was drawn to Graham. He auditioned for the Graham Company while a senior at New World School of the Arts, and literally walked down the aisle at graduation and into the Martha Graham Dance Company. Over the past seven years he has worked at mastering the Graham style with a passion it’s founder would have been proud to see.
In 2009 only four years after joining the company Knight was promoted to Soloist. He has performed in many of Graham’s seminal works including Errand into the Maze; and in the roles of the snake in Embattled Garden, and the preacher in what is perhaps Graham’s most recognizable work Appalachian Spring. It is little wonder that Dance Magazine named Knight one of the “Top 25 Dancers to Watch in 2010”.
The 2012 season of the Martha Graham Dance Company will begin on March 13 at the Joyce Theater. The company will revive Graham’s 1939 comic work Every Soul is a Circus. This work marked the first appearance of Merce Cunningham, who became the second male dancer (after Erick Hawkins) to join the Graham Company. In this season Knight will perform the role originally choreographed for Cunningham. Welcome back Lloyd Knight we wish you an inspired year, as we know your dancing will continue to inspire us.
(This article was originally posted February 29, 2012 for Harlem World Magazine)
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth Avenue
Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern Parkway
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueEncounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern Parkway
Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana returns to The Joyce with the New York City premiere of QUINTO ELEMENTO (Fifth Element), an evening-length work by acclaimed choreographer Patricia Guerrero, winner of Spain’s National Dance Award, with an original score by Francis Gómez performed live. Featuring Flamenco Vivo’s world-renowned international cast of dancers and musicians, the work explores the elusive fifth element of the earth—ether, the invisible essence that connects all things. Hailed by The New Yorker as “a master of tradition who dares to deconstruct the art form,” Guerrero ventures beyond flamenco’s aesthetic bounds, embracing chaos and fragmentation to reveal its essence—its invisible fifth element—and make it tangible to audiences
THE JOYCE THEATERThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueEncounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern ParkwayFlamenco Vivo Carlota Santana returns to The Joyce with the New York City premiere of QUINTO ELEMENTO (Fifth Element), an evening-length work by acclaimed choreographer Patricia Guerrero, winner of Spain’s National Dance Award, with an original score by Francis Gómez performed live. Featuring Flamenco Vivo’s world-renowned international cast of dancers and musicians, the work explores the elusive fifth element of the earth—ether, the invisible essence that connects all things. Hailed by The New Yorker as “a master of tradition who dares to deconstruct the art form,” Guerrero ventures beyond flamenco’s aesthetic bounds, embracing chaos and fragmentation to reveal its essence—its invisible fifth element—and make it tangible to audiences
THE JOYCE THEATERThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueEncounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern ParkwayFlamenco Vivo Carlota Santana returns to The Joyce with the New York City premiere of QUINTO ELEMENTO (Fifth Element), an evening-length work by acclaimed choreographer Patricia Guerrero, winner of Spain’s National Dance Award, with an original score by Francis Gómez performed live. Featuring Flamenco Vivo’s world-renowned international cast of dancers and musicians, the work explores the elusive fifth element of the earth—ether, the invisible essence that connects all things. Hailed by The New Yorker as “a master of tradition who dares to deconstruct the art form,” Guerrero ventures beyond flamenco’s aesthetic bounds, embracing chaos and fragmentation to reveal its essence—its invisible fifth element—and make it tangible to audiences
THE JOYCE THEATERThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueEncounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern Parkway
A dance and wellness classes design for Older Adults taught by Walter Rutledge
720 Nereid Ave, Bronx, NY 10466
Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana returns to The Joyce with the New York City premiere of QUINTO ELEMENTO (Fifth Element), an evening-length work by acclaimed choreographer Patricia Guerrero, winner of Spain’s National Dance Award, with an original score by Francis Gómez performed live. Featuring Flamenco Vivo’s world-renowned international cast of dancers and musicians, the work explores the elusive fifth element of the earth—ether, the invisible essence that connects all things. Hailed by The New Yorker as “a master of tradition who dares to deconstruct the art form,” Guerrero ventures beyond flamenco’s aesthetic bounds, embracing chaos and fragmentation to reveal its essence—its invisible fifth element—and make it tangible to audiences
THE JOYCE THEATERThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueEncounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern ParkwayFlamenco Vivo Carlota Santana returns to The Joyce with the New York City premiere of QUINTO ELEMENTO (Fifth Element), an evening-length work by acclaimed choreographer Patricia Guerrero, winner of Spain’s National Dance Award, with an original score by Francis Gómez performed live. Featuring Flamenco Vivo’s world-renowned international cast of dancers and musicians, the work explores the elusive fifth element of the earth—ether, the invisible essence that connects all things. Hailed by The New Yorker as “a master of tradition who dares to deconstruct the art form,” Guerrero ventures beyond flamenco’s aesthetic bounds, embracing chaos and fragmentation to reveal its essence—its invisible fifth element—and make it tangible to audiences
THE JOYCE THEATERThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueEncounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern ParkwayFlamenco Vivo Carlota Santana returns to The Joyce with the New York City premiere of QUINTO ELEMENTO (Fifth Element), an evening-length work by acclaimed choreographer Patricia Guerrero, winner of Spain’s National Dance Award, with an original score by Francis Gómez performed live. Featuring Flamenco Vivo’s world-renowned international cast of dancers and musicians, the work explores the elusive fifth element of the earth—ether, the invisible essence that connects all things. Hailed by The New Yorker as “a master of tradition who dares to deconstruct the art form,” Guerrero ventures beyond flamenco’s aesthetic bounds, embracing chaos and fragmentation to reveal its essence—its invisible fifth element—and make it tangible to audiences
THE JOYCE THEATERFlamenco Vivo Carlota Santana returns to The Joyce with the New York City premiere of QUINTO ELEMENTO (Fifth Element), an evening-length work by acclaimed choreographer Patricia Guerrero, winner of Spain’s National Dance Award, with an original score by Francis Gómez performed live. Featuring Flamenco Vivo’s world-renowned international cast of dancers and musicians, the work explores the elusive fifth element of the earth—ether, the invisible essence that connects all things. Hailed by The New Yorker as “a master of tradition who dares to deconstruct the art form,” Guerrero ventures beyond flamenco’s aesthetic bounds, embracing chaos and fragmentation to reveal its essence—its invisible fifth element—and make it tangible to audiences
THE JOYCE THEATERThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueEncounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern Parkway