The Luther Vandross Estate has released a brand-new music video for A House Is Not a Home to preview a major collaboration with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Continue reading
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Tag: Shall We Dance Friday
8/28/26 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Ghetto Funk Collective – Keep On Lovin’ Me (The Whispers)
The Ghetto Funk Collective released a viral dance performance set to the 1983 classic R&B track Keep On Lovin’ Me by The Whispers. The Netherlands-based dance group is widely celebrated for keeping old-school funk culture alive through their synchronized choreography, sharp locking movements, and sharp styling. Continue reading
8/21/26 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Meet Guilluame Diop – The Paris Opera Ballet’s First Black Danseur Etoile
Guillaume Diop is a French ballet dancer who made history in March 2023 by becoming the first Black dancer promoted to “Danseur Étoile” (star dancer)—the highest, principal rank within the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet. Born in Paris in 2000 to a French mother and a Senegalese father, he is celebrated globally as a technical prodigy and a prominent cultural symbol of modernization and diversity in classical arts. Continue reading
8/14/26 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Lift Every Voice – excerpt from Alonzo King’s Deep River
Babatunji performs the powerful solo Lift Every Voice. An excerpt from Alonzo King LINES Ballet’s acclaimed work, Deep River. Featured on PBS’s Next at the Kennedy Center series, the piece merges powerful movement with the historic Black National Anthem. Continue reading
7/17/26 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Lindy Hop Swing Dance Scene From Malcolm X (1992)
The Lindy Hop Swing Dance Scene from 1992 movie Malcolm X featuring Denzel Washington and Spike Lee. Choreographed with the help of Frankie Manning (blue suit) and Norma Miller (yellow dress) and the scene included background dancers Dawn Hampton and Ryan Francois. Otis Sallid was the choreographer and the song Flying Home is by Lionel Hampton. Continue reading
7/3/26 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Bob Fosse Dances From Sweet Charity – The Rich Man’s Frug
A perfect example of a Frug is found in the movie Sweet Charity, which contains a number called “The Rich Man’s Frug”, a wildly energetic dance number comprising three “movements” (“The Aloof”, “The Heavyweight” and “The Big Finish”) that showcases director Bob Fosse’s distinctive choreography style, particularly his creative use of unusual poses, gestures, and arm movement.
The Frug (pronounced “froog”) was a dance craze from the 1960s that evolved from another dance of the era, the Chicken. The Chicken, which featured lateral body movements, was used primarily as a change of pace step while doing the Twist. As young dancers grew more tired they would do less work, moving only their hips while standing in place. They then started making up arm movements for the dance, which prompted the birth of the Swim, the Monkey, the Dog, the Watusi, the Mashed Potato, and the Jerk. The Frug is sometimes referred to as the Surf, Big Bea, and the Thunderbird.
Bob Fosse dance numbers – The Rich Man’s Frug
7/2/26 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Janet Jackson – Alright
Alright is by R&B artist from her fourth studio album, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814. Written by Janet Jackson and Jimmy Jam also Terry Lewis, he song was released on March 4, 1990, by A&M Records as the fourth single from Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814. Continue reading
6/10/26 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Agon Pas de Deux – Diana Adams and Arthur Mitchell
The Agon pas de deux, choreographed by George Balanchine in 1957 to a score by Igor Stravinsky, is a revolutionary milestone in 20th-century ballet. Its original cast paired Arthur Mitchell, the first Black principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, with Diana Adams, a caucasian ballerina.
6/5/26 O&A SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY PRIDE: Lar Lubovitch- Duet from Concerto Six Twenty-Two
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
5/8/26 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: It’s Not That Serious – A Dance Film by Ricky Ubeda
It’s Not That Serious is a Short Contemporary Dance Film directed and choreographed by Ricky Ubeda, the winner of So You Think You Can Dance Season 11. Released in December 2025, the film features a high-energy ensemble performance set to the track Sympathy by Vampire Weekend. Continue reading
