1/22/16 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Martin: A Ballet By Gordon Parks ( Act IV The Assassin)

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The Fourth Act of Martin: A Ballet By Gordon Parks starring John Jones as Dr. King, Sheila Rohan as Rosa Park and James E. Murphy as the Assassin.

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1/8/16 O&A NYC EXCLUSIVE: Beyonce And Bruno Mars Will Join Coldplay for Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show

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Pepsi confirms that Queen Bey herself, Beyonce, will join Coldplay at the Super Bowl on-stage during their performance at the Pepsi Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show on Feb. 7. Presumably, the group will deliver a live rendition of Hymn for the Weekend,  featured on their seventh studio album, A Head Full of Dreams, and features vocals from Bey. Bruno Mars is also expected to take the stage with Coldplay at some point during the show. The Uptown Funk singer previously headlined the Pepsi Super Bowl halftime show in 2014, while Beyonce ran the show in 2013.

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Something tells us that Bruno and Bey aren’t the only VIPs we’ll be seeing on that stage, at least one more act is expected to join the halftime show. “Today, it’s about how do we stage our special guests. Yesterday, what I was nervous about, it was all about the set list,” Harvey remarked. Super Bowl 50 will take place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016, airing live on CBS.

1/8/16 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Pas de Quatre’ – Alicia Alonso, Carla Fracci, Ghislaine Thesmar and Eva Evdokimova

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Pas de Quatre, originally choreographed by Jules Perrot in 1846 to music by Cesare Pugni, caused a sensation with both critics and public at its London premiere in 1847. One reason for its success was that it brought together four of the greatest ballerinas of the time. In order of appearance in the work, the ballerinas were Lucile Grahn, Carlotta Grisi, Fanny Cerrito, and Marie Taglioni, with this order being according to age. This cast only performed four times together.  Continue reading

12/18/15 O&A Shall We Dance: Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland- Nutcracker Grand Pas de Deux

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During the 1977 Christmas season, CBS brought Mikhail Baryshnikov’s highly acclaimed American Ballet Theatre production of Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet The Nutcracker to television. The production has remains the most popular and most often shown television production of the work in the U.S.  Mikhail Baryshnikov performed the title role, with Gelsey Kirkland as Clara.
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12/11/15 O&A NYC Shall We Dance Friday: Rudolf Nureyev and Merle Park – The Nutcracker (1968)

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This historic performance from 1968 captures choreographer/performer Rudolf Nureyev at the peak of his career. Filmed at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the ballet features artists of the Royal Ballet including Wayne Sleep, Jillian Gibbs and Merle Park as Clara. Continue reading

(Repost) 11/27/15 O&A NYC Shall We Dance Friday: Sylvie Guillem- Boléro

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One of Maurice Bejart’s most noted works, Bolero shows a woman dancing hypnotically on a tabletop. Sylvie Guillem performed its sinuous caressing and beckoning movements as if she were making incantatory gestures as a high priestess of an erotic ritual. Men seated motionless on chairs at the sides of the stage fall under her spell and slowly come to life. As Ravel’s familiar score mounts to a mighty climax, they dance around the table and at last jump on it to join the woman. The ballet is a remarkable image of awakening desire. Continue reading

11/13/15 O&A NYC Shall We Dance Friday: Missy Elliott – WTF (Where They From) ft. Pharrell Williams

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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

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

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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

10/30/15 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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