1/19/24 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Four Corners- Ronald K. Brown and Evidence: A Dance Company

Ronald K. Brown’s Four Corners was originally commissioned for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 2014. Dancers depict spiritual seekers amid four angels standing on the corners of the earth, holding the four winds. Continue reading

7/29/23 O&A NYC GOING BACK TO AFRICA WITH WaleStyles: Wise African Proverbs And Sayings – Great Deep African Wisdom

By Adewale Adekanbi Jr. 

WaleStyles shares wise African proverbs and sayings for some Saturday morning wisdom.

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3/6/22 O&A NYC MUSIC: Staten Island Jazz Festival 33- Her Legacy Continues

By Walter Rutledge

In August Universal Temple of The Arts founder Sadja Musawwir Ladner joined the ancestors. A fixture in Staten Island arts scene for over fifty years Ladner provided arts education, performance opportunities and outreach to the underserved communities of her beloved borough- Staten Island. Her untimely passing shocked and saddened all who encountered this “community spirit”, fortunately her legacy lives on. On Saturday March 12, at 5pm the Universal Temple of the Arts will present the Staten Island Jazz Festival 33 at the historic St. George Theatre located at 35 Hyatt St, downtown Staten Island.

The festival will feature jazz music seven artists/groups including Nikara Presents…Black Wall Street (Nikara Warren), Bria Skonberg, Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, The Leopoldo F. Fleming Afro Caribbean Ensemble, Danny Mixon Quartet featuring vocalist Antoinette Montague, Dal Segno Trio featuring Darrell Smith, Michael Morreale and Houston Person and The Universal Temple of the Arts Jazz Ensemble. The evening will honor Women’s History Month as it celebrates the life and legacy of Ladner. There will also be a spoken word presentation featuring Professor Charles Thomas, Jordan Bracy and dancer Nubia Briathwaite, and a dance tribute choreographed by Walter Rutledge featuring Roumel Reaux, Briathwaite and Rutledge.

Musician Darrell Smith will make his debut in the role as the festival’s Music Director. Smith first met Ladner as a sixteen-year-old jazz enthusiast, now his many credits include imbuing and inspiring the next generation of young jazz aficionados at Jazz at Lincoln Center. O&A Editor-in-Chief sat down with Musical Director Smith to discuss the upcoming festival and all things jazz.

Staten Island Jazz Festival 33

Tickets can also be purchased at the St. George Theatre Box Office.

8/24/20 O&A NYC DANCE… AND MORE: Peace One Love- Bringing Brooklyn Together

By Walter Rutledge

Dance has always been a catalyst for change. In 1936 Martha Graham created her masterwork Chronicles as a weapon against the rising menace of fascism in Germany. In 1959 Donald McKayle’s Rainbow Round My Shoulder evoked the hopelessness and inequality of Black men on a southern prison chain gang. On Saturday August 29 Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn (also known as Creative Outlet or just C.O.) will also use the power of dance to heal a community with Peace One Love, an afternoon of the arts celebrating the spirit of the now internationally recognized Black Lives Matter movement.   Continue reading

9/6/18 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHTS MEET SPORTS: Nike Follows Colin Kaepernick Just Do It Ad With “Dream Crazy”

On Labor Day, Nike unveiled the latest installment of their unbreakable Just Do It ad campaign with Colin Kaepernick, the NFL quarterback who has sparked an incredibly polarizing conversation by choosing to kneel during the national anthem. Continue reading

2/13/17 O&A NYC WITH WaleStylez VIDEO: New Nike Message- Equality And Opportunity

By Adewale Adekanbi Jr.

Airing tonight during the Grammy is featuring Nike’s powerful and serious new advertisement that sends a message regarding opportunity and discrimination.  Continue reading

10/21/16 O&A NYC THE RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE: Bad Hombres, Nasty Women (ft. “Weird Al” Yankovic)

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Bad Hombres, Nasty Women featuring Weird Al Yankovic spoofs the final debate between Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton. Continue reading

9/17/16 O&A NYC GOSPEL SUNDAY: Doubt is Real

GOSPEL SUNDAY
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Doubt is Real, part of the new generation of Christian spoken work and gospel rap, continues in the tradition of the Mahalia Jackson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Edwin Hawkins Singers, BeBe and CeCe. Winans and Kirk Franklin, by praising God through popular culture.  Continue reading

9/30/16 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Daniel Beaty- Knock Knock

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Daniel Beaty performs Knock, Knock on Def Jam Poetry. The poem/spoken word shares the relationship between a boy and his father.   Continue reading

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

By Walter Rutledge

Staten Island Jazz Festival 28

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