9/20/24 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Fred Astaire & Cyd Charisse- The Girl Hunt Ballet from The Band Wagon (1953)

The dance is called Girl Hunt Ballet from the 1953 film The Band Wagon directed by Vincente Minnelli. It is around 12 minutes long and is a mini-mystery dance. Fred Astaire plays Rod Reilly, a private detective and he is narrating his story, which is unfolding in the dance. Cyd Charisse plays duel roles as both the innocent blonde and the brunette siren. Continue reading

(REPOST) 9/10/24 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: From Stutterer To Star: How James Earl Jones Found His Voice

James Earl Jones, the 92-year-old acting legend who in 2014 made his return to Broadway in the play You Can’t Take It With You, discusses the highs and lows of his six-decade-long career, from his modest beginnings suffering from a stutter to a celebrated star of stage and screen with one of the most recognizable voices in the world. Continue reading

9/9/24 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Bullitt (1968) The Greatest Hollywood Car Chase of All Time


Bullitt, a 1968 action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Phillip D’Antoni. The film stars Steve McQueen as the title character. He is a San Francisco police detective Frank Bullitt, who pursues a group of mobsters after they kill the witness he’s been assigned to protect. 
Continue reading

9/4/24 O&A NYC WILDIN OUT WEDNESDAY: Madame Re-Res Dance Scene- School Daze

The iconic salon dance fight sequence choreographed by Otis Sallid from Spike Lee‘s 1988 musical comedy School Daze. Continue reading

7/19/24 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: The Wiz-A Brand New Day (Everybody Rejoice)


With Evillene (Mable King*) dead, her powerful spells. Soon all her sweat shop workers and prisoners are free from her hold over them and “strip” way their hideous wicked witch skin. They all celebrate with Dorthy (Diana Ross), Scarecrow, (Michael Jackson), Tin Man (Nipsey Russell), and Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross*). This large cast dance member is the brain child of choreographer Louis Johnson, whose high energy, and interdisciplinary vocabulary captures the energy of the song lead by The Wiz Singers Adult Choir member Luther Vandross. Continue reading

7/12/24 O&A NYC HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAH RICHARDS: As Summers Die (1986) Starring Ron O’Neal, Beah Richards, Jamie Lee Curtis and Bette Davis

As Summers Die a 1986 film starring Ron O’Neal, Beah Richards, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Bette Davis. The plot centers around a large area of land owned by an old black lady, Elvira Backus ( Beah Richards). It had been given to her by her one-time employer and secret father of her two children, a southern patriarch. Continue reading

5/20/24 O&A Hollywood Monday: Grace Jones in Vamp

Vamp.1986.rmvb_001402278

Vamp is a 1986 comedy horror film directed by Richard Wenk, co-written by Wenk and Donald P. Borchers, and starring Grace Jones and Chris Makepeace. Continue reading

5/15/24 O&A NYC WILDIN OUT WEDNESDAY: Lilly Goes Black- Blazing Saddles (1974)


Blazing Saddles is a classic Mel Brooks satire on racism in America. Madeline Kahn as Lilly Von Shtupp steals the show when she asks the new black sheriff  Bart (Cleavon Little),  “So, tell me, schatze, is it twue vhat day say about da vay you people are a … gifted?” Continue reading

5/13/24 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Devil In A Blue Dress (1995) – Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals

In the gritty streets of 1940s Los Angeles, a down on his luck war veteran finds himself caught in a web of deceit and danger when he accepts a seemingly straightforward job to find a missing woman. As he delves deeper into the seedy underbelly of the city, he uncovers dark secrets, political intrigue, and betrayal that threaten to consume him. 

Continue reading

5/6/24 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: A Ballerina’s Tale

Ballerina Misty Copeland made history becoming the first African-American Woman to earn the position of Principal Dancer with the world renowned American Ballet Theater. Continue reading