The Harlem Sandman features Nick Stewart, Count Basie, Jack Williams, Dorothy Dandridge, Ernest Morrison and Pops & Louie from Hit Parade of 1943. Continue reading
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Tag: Tap Dance
3/2/26 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Stormy Weather- Lena Horne, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Cab Calloway, Nicholas Brothers, Katherine Dunham and dancers
Stormy Weather is a 1943 film musical produced and released by 20th Century Fox. The movie is considered one of the best Hollywood musicals with an all African-American cast and serve to showcase of some of the top African-American performers of the time. Continue reading
2/20/26 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Sammy Davis Jr.- The Original Triple Threat
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
9/1/25 O&A NYC DANCE REVIEW: Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project – Unbound: Shattered Frames, Endless Visions.
By Walter Rutledge
It seems our narratives, our cultural and historic legacy, is being erased or altered to fit a new national fiction. It is becoming extremely important to tell our own stories and to share and protect our narratives. This was the mission of the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project production Unbound: Shattered Frames, Endless Visions. The impressive and stylish sold-out presentation took place on Saturday, August 23 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance.
8/22/25 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project’s Artists Speak
By Walter Rutledge
The Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project (CBDLP) 2025 presentation, Unbound: Shattered Frames, Endless Visions will grace the stage of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance this Saturday, August 23, 6pm. This unprecedented dance/theatre event showcases ten of Chicago’s most dynamic and diverse dance companies. The event is more than a dance concert. The production is a collective of Chicago-based artists celebrating the continued historic contributions of the Black dance community on the city’s cultural landscape. Continue reading
11/1/24 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Hinton Battle/Alfonso Ribeiro -Tap Dance Kid (Tony Awards 1984)
Fabulous Feet from the Broadway musical The Tap Dance Kid choreographed by Danny Daniels and featuring Alfonso Ribeiro, Hinton Battle and Company. This performance is from the 1984 Tony Awards. Continue reading
11/30/21 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Harlem On Parade (1944)| Louis Armstrong and Dorothy Dandridge
Harlem On Parade is a musical number from the 1944 American musical romance film Atlantic City. The supporting cast features Louis Armstrong, Buck & Bubbles and Dorothy Dandridge who recreated Vaudeville acts. The film was reissued in 1950 under the title Atlantic City Honeymoon. Continue reading
5/7/21 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: The Harlem Sandman (1943) Count Basie and Dorothy Dandridge,
Count Basie and his Orchestra play Harlem Sandman, an extended number in Hit Parade of 1943. It features Dorothy Dandridge and Jack Williams singing plus dance act Pops and Louis (Albert Whitman & Louis Williams) along with dancers Dorothea Durham, Neva Peoples & Ruth Scott.
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11/27/20 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: The First Moonwalk- Bill Bailey At The Apollo Theatre (1955)
Bill Bailey, brother of singer Pearl Bailey, is frequently credited with inventing the moonwalk because of a tap dancing move called backslide; making this one of the first ever moonwalks on film Continue reading
6/11/20 O&A NYC LOCKDOWN LEARNING: The Harlem Renaissance – Black Cultural Movement in Art Music and Literature
This a video biography of the Harlem Renaissance, a negro movement where Black America developed significant cultural resources and a new cultural identity. It was an era of intellectual flowering. The levity of this movement produced great Black renaissance poets, music, art and literature . Continue reading
