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Tag: Shall We Dance Friday
9/1/17 (REPOST) O&A NYC Shall We Dance Friday: Jennifer Gelfand in Vortex Section from Alvin Ailey’s The River
Jennifer Gelfand performs the Vortex section of Alvin Ailey’s The River. Originally set on American Ballet Theatre in 1970 the work was performed by Gelfand during a tour entitled Vortex section of Alvin Ailey’s The River. Fernando Bujones and Stars of the Boston Ballet in 1993. The work was set to music by Duke Ellington. Continue reading
Shall We Dance Friday: Romeo and Juliet Balcony Scene
Balcony scene from John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet featuring Marcia Haydee and Richard Cragun with music by Sergei Prokofiev. Continue reading
Shall We Dance Friday: Le Jeune Homme et la Mort – Mikhail Baryshnikov
White Nights is a 1985 American film directed by Taylor Hackford and choreographed by Twyla Tharp and stars Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Jerzy Skolimowski, Helen Mirren and Isabella Rossellini. The movie opens with an abridged version of Roland Petite’s Le Jeune Homme et la Mort. The ballet was given the full Hollywood treatment. Continue reading
Shall We Dance Friday: David Parsons- Caught
David Parsons’ stroboscopic masterpiece, Caught, features more than 100 leaps in six minutes by a solo dancer who is repeatedly trapped in mid-motion by the strobe lights, to create an illusion of flight. After thousands of performances, worldwide, for nearly thirty years, Caught continues to thrill audiences at every performance. Continue reading
Shall We Dance Friday: The Dying Swan by Lil Buck and Yo-Yo Ma
Charles “Lil Buck” Riley (born May 25, 1988) is a Los Angeles-based dancer and occasional model from Memphis, Tennessee who specializes in a style of street dance called Memphis jookin’. He gained popularity after director Spike Jonze used his cell phone to record an interpretive performance of The Dying Swan by Lil Buck and Yo-Yo Ma. Continue reading
10/3/25 Shall We Dance Friday: Encore Performance Nureyev and Fonteyn Swan Lake Act III excerpts
Excerpts from the third at of Swan Lake starring Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn. Nureyev choreographed this 1967 version especially for film.
Shall We Dance Friday: The Nicholas Brothers in “Jumpin Jive” from Stormy Weather
The Nicholas Brothers were a famous African- American team of dancing brothers, Fayard (1914–2006) and Harold (1921–2000). With their highly acrobatic technique (flash dance), high level of artistry and daring innovations, they were considered by many the greatest tap dancers of their day. Continue reading
Shall We Dance Friday: Dudley Williams- I Wanna Be Ready (1986)
In a long, brilliant career, Dudley Williams worked with such artists as Martha Graham, Talley Beatty, and Donald McKayle. Most significantly, he was a member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for more than forty years. Although Williams retired from that company in 2005, some months before his 67th birthday, he still teaches at the Ailey School. He also makes guest appearances as a teacher at the Martha Graham School. “[Dudley Williams is] amazing—an inspiration to everybody, a real poet with movement.” –Alvin Ailey from Revelations: The Autobiography of Alvin Ailey.
(REPOST) O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Maurice Bejart: Bolero featuring Jorge Donn
Maurice Bejart choreographed Bolero in 1960 for the Ballet du XXe Siècle (Ballet of the Twentieth Century). In Bolero Béjart returns to the spirit of his 1959 Rite of Spring, by negating the easy choices of a picturesque exterior in favor of a stripped down simplicity. He gives the central role, the Melody, to a solo dancer and the ensemble is described as the Rhythm. Argentinian dancer Jorge Donn was best known for his work with Bejart. His theatricality and androgynous attack epitomized the 80’s.
