Missy Elliott – WTF (Where They From) ft. Pharrell Williams

Shall We Dance

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Missy Elliott has returned in spectacularly weird style in the vibrant, clever video for “WTF (Where They From),” her new single with Pharrell. The clip opens with a handful of New Yorkers already singing along to “WTF” and goes on to feature the rapper and a rotating cast of dancers working locations around the city. Though the concept is simple, the execution is far from it. Continue reading

11/6/15 O&A NYC Shall We Dance Friday: Le Jeune Homme et la Mort- Rudolf Nureyev or Mikhail Baryshnikov? You decide

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Le Jeune Homme et la Mort (1946) choreography by Roland Petit, set to Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582, with a one-act libretto by Jean Cocteau. The story of a young man driven to suicide by his faithless lover. Two of the most memorable interrupters of the male role (both stage and film) have been Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov.  Continue reading

10/31/15 O&A NYC Song Of The Day: Michael Jackson’s Thriller

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Michael Jackson’s Thriller is a 13-minute music video for the song of the same name released on December 2, 1983. It was directed by John Landis, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Jackson. It was MTV’s first world premiere video. Continue reading

10/30/15 O&A NYC Shall We Dance Friday (Repost): Clive Thompson- The Early Years (Video)

By Walter Rutledge

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Clive Thompson literally began performing before he worn his first pair of long pants.

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10/27/15 O&A NYC Music: The Staten Island Jazz Festival

By Walter Rutledge

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The 28th Annual Staten Island Jazz Festival presented by the Universal Temple of the Arts (UTA) is becoming one of the city’s “don’t miss” events. The festival took place on Saturday, October 17th in the Music Hall at Snug Harbor. Over the years the festival has built a loyal Staten Island base, but this year it attracted an enthusiastic diverse Tri-State audience of both jazz aficionados and newcomers. Continue reading

10/28/15 O&A NYC With WaleStylez- Song Of The Day: Michael Jackson – Ghosts

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Michael Jackson’s Ghosts is a 1997 short film starring Michael Jackson, co-written by horror novelist Stephen King and directed by film director and special effects guru Stan Winston which could also be classified as a long-form music video. Continue reading

10/27/15 O&A NYC Song Of The Day: Drake- Hotline Bling

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At this point, there’s no denying Drake’s charmingly goofy, yet luxurious and minimalist dance moves in his new “Hotline Bling” music video. The clip dropped only days ago, but at this point, it’s pretty much legendary (or at least Internet-legendary), judging by the sheer volume of new memes we get out of it daily — and not to mention its influence on the fashion world. Continue reading

4/24/15 O&A Shall We Dance Friday: Bunny Briggs – Duke’s Dancer

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Bunny Briggs says he was born dancing: “When I finally faced the world my legs were kickin’. They let me loose, and I just started dancin’ . Just started right out dancin’. And been dancing ever since.” He was born on Lenox Avenue and 138th Street in Harlem, New York. At the age of three his mother took him to the Lincoln Theatre to see his aunt Gladys, who was a chorus girl. After seeing the dapper Bill Robinson perform at the Lincoln he rushed home to say, “Mamma, I want to be a tap dancer”. 

Bunny Briggs with Benny Carter Orchestra

After appearing at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1960 with the Duke Ellington band, Briggs became known as Duke’s Dancer. Briggs became the chosen soloist in Ellington’s Concert of Sacred Dance, in David Danced Before the Lord, which premiered at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco (September 16, 1965). Dubbed by Ellington as “the most superleviathonic, rhythmaturgically-syncopated tapsthamaticianisamist”.

Bunny Briggs Performs Come Sunday from Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concert of Music

Briggs was nominated for a Tony Award in 1989 for his work in the Broadway show Black and Blue, he also appeared in the Gregory Hines film Tap in 1989. In 2002, Briggs received an honorary Doctorate of Performing Arts in American Dance by Oklahoma City University in 2002, honoring him as one of the nine doctorates of Tap Dance.

Dr. Bunny Briggs in Black and Blue

The Bessies Are Coming- Meet The Nominees

By Walter Rutledge 

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The 31st New York Dance and Performance Awards, affectionately known as The Bessies, will be held on Monday, October 19, at 7:30pm, at the legendary Apollo Theater in New York City . Jock Soto (former New York City Ballet principal) and performance artist and playwright Carmelita Tropicana will host the event. This is the fifth year The Bessies will be held at the historic Harlem landmark Theater.

This year The Bessies have nominated over thirty-five artists in seven catagories, which include: Outstanding Production, Outstanding Music Composition/Sound design, Outstanding Revival, Outstanding Performer, Outstanding Emerging Choreographer, Outstanding Visual Design, and the 2015 Juried Bessie Award. There will also be special presentations to Steve Paxton, recipient of the 2015 Bessie for Lifetime Achievement in Dance; and Movement Research, for Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance. The ceremony will feature performances by Bessie Award-winning artists Camille A. Brown, Lisa Nelson, and Storyboard P, recipient of the 2015 Outstanding Emerging Choreographer Award.

Here is an opportunity to meet five nominated artists:

Meet The Artists

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David Neumann/advanced beginner group– Outstanding Production for I Understand Everything Better.

David Neumann has been a featured dancer in the works of Susan Marshall, Jane Comfort, Sally Silvers, Irene Hultman, Cathy Weiss, Big Dance Theater, and the late club legend Willi Ninja. As Artistic Director of advanced beginner group, Neumann’s work has been presented in New York at PS 122, New York Live Arts, Central Park SummerStage (where he collaborated with John Giorno), Celebrate Brooklyn, Symphony Space (where he collaborated with Laurie Anderson), The Whitney, The Kitchen and BRIC Arts. His work has also been presented at the Walker Art Center and MASS MoCA. He’s currently a professor of Theater at Sarah Lawrence College.

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Lauren Grant– Outstanding Performer for her overall body of work with Mark Morris.

Grant has danced with MMDG since 1996. Performing leading roles in The Hard Nut and Mozart Dances, Grant has appeared in over 50 of Mark Morris’ works. She is on the faculty at The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center, leads master classes around the globe, sets Mr. Morris’ work at universities, and frequently leads classes for the company. Grant has been featured in Time Out New York, Dance Magazine, the book Meet the Dancers, appeared in PBS’s Live From Lincoln Center and ITV’s The South Bank Show and was a subject for the photographer Annie Leibovitz.

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Storyboard P– Emerging Choreographer (Winner)

Storyboard P has fused various styles of Hip-Hop, (the latest American born art form) with elements of modern and jazz dance, cinematography and thematic choreographic form to create new dance narrative and abstract movement based works. His work embodies the collaborative ethos enlisting artists, fashion designers, musicians, DJs, filmmakers and street performers. Storyboard P’s art is reminiscent of another American art form- Jazz. Both were inspired by popular urban trends; but then manipulated codified techniques and experimented through improvisation to move in new directions. This 24 year-old phenom’s recent collaborations include fashion designer Marc Jacobs, recording artists Jay Z and Miguel, documentary filmmaker Frendy Lemorin, and renowned photographer Marc Baptiste. He calls this artistic movement amalgam Mutant; and in his own words, “Really my vision is just to speak, just to move, it’s just the aesthetic of it.”

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600 Highwaymen– Outstanding Performance for Employee Of The Year 

600 Highwaymen is a Brooklyn-based theater company under the artistic direction of Abigail Browde and Michael Silverstone. In Employee Of The Year Nominee five young girls perform one woman’s journey, from beginning to end. Intimate and arresting, Employee of the Year asks what it is to discover your own path and find your own way in life.

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 Tei Blow– Outstanding Music Composition/Sound Design for I Understand Everything Better

Tei Blow is a performer and media designer born in Japan, raised in the United States, and based in Brooklyn, N.Y. Tei’s work incorporates photography and video with a focus on found media artifacts. He has performed and designed for The Laboratory of Dmity Krymov, Mihail Baryshnikov, Jodi Melnick, Ann Liv Young, Big Dance Theater and David Neumann. “As a designer and composer, I create intentionally derivative works from original and existing recorded material. Sounds are transformed through their contextual placement in space and time. My work illuminates the ties between design and subject by reframing familiar, found and original sounds; asking the viewrs to draw sensorial connections between the present moment and their own memories.”

Tickets for the 2015 Bessie Awards start at $10 and can be purchased in person at the Apollo Theater box office; by phone through Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000; or online at Ticketmaster.com. The Apollo Theater is located at 253 West 125th Street , New York , NY 10027.

10/11/15 O&A NYC Picks of the Week October 11- October 18, 2015: Brunch, Art, Dance, Film, Music and Theater

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Autumn is finally here! And it has ushered in a whirlwind of fall arts events. We have fine art, dance, film, music and theatre; something for everyone. Here are a few of the many events happening in the city that never sleeps guaranteed to keep you Out and About.

Titles- Brunch

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Dirt Candy  86 Allen Street, New York, NY 10002 (212) 228-7732  
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For the first time in its seven-year history, Amanda Cohen’s vegetarian restaurant is serving brunch. The menu includes dishes like a “greens sandwich” stuffed with stir-fried vegetables, a “spinach ramen salad,” and carrot granola with labneh. Cohen is also serving an homage to one of her favorite long gone NYC restaurants,The Royal Canadian Pancake House: the “Canadian cracker,” which is two waffles with fried eggs, cheese, and roasted tomatoes.

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Wallflower 235 W 12th Street, New York, NY 10014                                                                                  

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The new brunch menu at this celebrated West Village cocktail parlor has French-influenced dishes like pain perdu, croque madame, and a Provençale omelette, plus a bacon quesadilla and scrambled eggs with biscuits and gravy. Xavier Herit’s cocktail list includes a fancy Bloody Mary, plus a Pimm’s and sparkling wine concoction called the “Rose Royal.”

Titles Art

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Kongo Power & Majesty

 The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street), New York, NY 10028 212-535-7710                                                                                           

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Central Africa’s Kongo civilization is responsible for one of the world’s greatest artistic traditions. This international loan exhibition explores the region’s history and culture through 146 of the most inspired creations of Kongo masters from the late fifteenth through the early twentieth century. Exhibition run through January 3, 2016. 

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Jim Shaw: The End Is Here

New Museum 235 Bowery, New York, NY 10002 (212) 219.1222

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Over the past thirty years, Shaw has become one of the United States’ most influential and visionary artists, moving between painting, sculpture, and drawing, and building connections between his own psyche and America’s larger political, social, and spiritual histories. Shaw mines his imagery from the cultural refuse of the twentieth century, using comic books, record covers, conspiracy magazines, and obscure religious iconography to produce a portrait of the nation’s subconscious. The exhibition runs through January 10, 2016.

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José Limón International Dance Festival- October 13-25, 2015        

Joyce Theater 175 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10011 (212) 691-9740                                                                                         

To commemorate the Limón Dance Company’s 70th anniversary season, the José Limón Dance Foundation presents an International Dance Festival showcasing the variety and depth of this master choreographer’s humanistic vision. The programs promise to be glorious as Limón dancers, guest artists from acclaimed companies like the Royal Danish Ballet and the Bavarian State Ballet, and dancers from among the world’s finest education programs like The Juilliard School, North Carolina School of the Arts, and the University of Taipei join forces to bring Limón’s magnificent artistry to life in such signature pieces as Missa Brevis, Orfeo, and The Moor’s Pavane.

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H.T. CHEN & DANCERS: South Of Gold MountainOctober 15-18, 2015

New York Live Arts, 219 West 19th Street

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H.T. CHEN & DANCERS present the New York premiere of South Of Gold Mountain Thursday-Sunday October 15-18  (Thurs/Fri/Sat at 7:30 PM; Sunday at 3 PM) at New York Live Arts, 219 West 19th Street. The multi-generational cast includes Dian Dong, whose family relocated to the U.S. in 1864, and Renouard Gee, whose family also emigrated from China and settled in Houston, Tx, where they ran a grocery store.  The production memorializes the immigrants’ struggles with discrimination and racism, and their contributions to the building of America by working on railroads, levees, plantations, and as grocers, launderers, and later as restaurant owners. 

The husband and wife team of H.T. Chen and Dian Dong created the work after conducting three years of extensive research and in-depth interviews with immigrants and their descendants. South of Gold Mountain has received the support of Chinese American community heritage museums and family associations in the U.S. For tickets and more information visit chendancecenter.org or newyorklivearts.org.

Titles for Titles - Film

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Pan the action adventure follows the story of an orphan who is spirited away to the magical Neverland. There, he finds both fun and dangers, and ultimately discovers his destiny—to become the hero who will be forever known as Peter Pan.

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During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return.

The Martian

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Staten Island Jazz Festival- October 17, 2015

Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Music Hall 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island

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The Universal Temple of the Arts (UTA) presents the Staten Island Jazz Festival on Saturday, October 18 at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Music Hall to critical acclaim and loyal audiences for 28 years. UTA has long embraced Jazz, an American-born music genre, and founded the Staten Island Jazz Festival in 1988 with the intent of both preserving and promoting Jazz arts. UTA has consistently delivered an extraordinary show combining local talent with legendary artists.

The roster for 2015 includes: Hamiet Bluiett, Kiane Zawadi, Winard Harper Ensemble, Danny Mixon Quartet, Leopoldo Fleming Afro-Caribbean Jazz Ensemble, Betty Shirley, The Makanda Project, Dr. Mambo and the Experience Ensemble, Emme Kemp, Jaron Eames, David Jones, Karlus Trapp, Vinnie Ruggieri, Bob Kaiser, Chris Kaiser, Jeannine Otis, WaFoo, Rudi Mwongozi, and festival founder Sajda Musawwir Ladner. For more information about the workshops, please call (718) 273-5610, email info@utasi.org or visit utasi.org.

Title Theater

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12 Angry Men, October 15- 18, 2015

Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus

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The Center for Arts & Culture at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation in partnership with The New Press present 12 Angry Men, Thursday October 15 through Sunday October 18 at Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus. The production directed by George Faison and features a talented cast including : John Amos, Jerome Preston Bates, Chuck Cooper, Jason Dirden, Nelsan Ellis, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Dule Hill, Russell Hornsby, Dorian Missick, Roscoe Orman, Michael Potts, David John Washington, Victor Williams.

This theatrical presentation reveals some pointed truths about our nation, from a collective of African-American actors represented by a dozen African-American men from across the United States, sharing their personal stories of being racially profiled. Tickets are $35; $25; $15 students and seniors w/ID. On opening night 10/15)$50; $35, $25 (students and seniors w/ID). For information and reservations visit kumbletheater.org. 

We look forward to seeing you Out and About

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