By Walter Rutledge
Please excuse my self indulgent opening digression. It is the perfect example of history being rewritten and romanticized to create propaganda more palatable to the American founding fathers myth. . Continue reading
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Category Archives: Choreography
6/11/23 O&A NYC DANCE REVIEW: Ailey At BAM
By Walter Rutledge
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater presented a Brooklyn dance series June 6th thru 11th at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). The six-day seven performance series offered two well curated programs of new works and Ailey classics. The Saturday evening performance consisted of four works by four modern dance luminaries, Kyle Abraham, Robert Battle, Ron Brown and Paul Taylor. Continue reading
2/14/24 O&A NYC ST. VALENTINE’S DAY DANCE: Dudley Williams- Alvin Ailey’s Love Songs
In 1972, Alvin Ailey created the elegiac solo Love Songs for dancer Dudley Williams. The sixteen minute solo, composed in three sections includes A Song for You by Donny Hathaway; Poppies by Nina Simone; and He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Brother by Donny Hathaway. Many thought of the work as the male equivalent of the female solo Cry (1971). Continue reading
4/30/23 O&A NYC DANCE HISTORY: The Life of Alvin Ailey
Dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey revolutionized the world of dance by honoring the African American experience. Unfortunately his personal journey was not without its struggles.
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4/21/23 O&A NYC ITS SATURDAY- ANYTHING GOES: The Kiss by Margo Sappington
Dancers Valentina Kozlova and Sven Toorvald performs choreographer Margo Sappington‘s Rodin inspired duet The Kiss Continue reading
4/22/23 O&A NYC FILM REVIEW: An American Ballet Story- The Harkness Ballet
By Walter Rutledge
An American Ballet Story is the long-awaited documentary about the rise and fall of the Harkness Ballet. The company and school had an almost mythical two-decade impact on dance and helped changed the artform forever. The 94-minute documentary, which was seven years in the making, tells the unvarnished story of the now defunct and largely forgotten Harkness Ballet of New York. Continue reading
4/18/23 O&A NYC MORE HARKNESS STORIES: Margo Sappington
By Margo Sappington
Vicente Nebrada called me in 1973 because he had seen my ballet “Weewis” which I choreographed for the Joffrey Ballet. It was a ballet for 3 couples set to a commissioned score for rock band and chamber orchestra. He said the Harkness Ballet needed something like that for their repertoire and I said, “Well, I do have something else in mind.” He stated that would be up to Mrs. Harkness and I would need to discuss it with her.
4/15/23 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Lawrence Rhodes- Beginning of the Harkness Ballet
Larry Rhodes discusses the events leading to the formation of the Harkness Ballet in an excerpt from the upcoming documentary An American Ballet Story. The story about the all too short life of the Harkness Ballet, will have its New York live screening premiere on April 20th at the New York Public Library Performing Arts – Bruno Walter Auditorium. O&A NYC Magazine Editor-in-Chief Walter Rutledge will moderate the post screening Q and A. Continue reading
4/10/23 O&A NYC MORE HARKNESS STORIES: Lawrence Leritz- I’ve Been Around
I’ve Been Around (Excerpt from upcoming book of the same name)
By Lawrence Leritz
I arrived in NYC on a Sunday afternoon during the intense summer heat of early July, 1974. David Howard, co-director of Harkness House, recommended that I stay at The East End Hotel, a rundown boarding hotel on the East River near Harkness House, which was located on East 75th off Fifth Avenue. Most of the dancers were there for the six-week intensive summer session.
4/7/23 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Ballet For Life: Harkness Ballet- Finis Jhung
In the dance film autobiography Ballet For Life: Harkness Ballet former dance and acclaimed teacher Finis Jhung reminisces about his years with the Harkness Ballet where he reached the pinnacle in his career and discovered Buddhism, which dramatically changed the course of his life. Continue reading
