5/1/18 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Be The Best of Whatever You Are – Martin Luther King Jr

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s tale of the street sweeper teaches you to be the best at what you do regardless of your situation in life. That we should always aspire to be the best in our work and in our life. Continue reading

4/26/18 O&A NYC DANCE: The Dance Of the Village Elders Celebrates Dudley Williams

The Dance Of the Village Elders will present Only In The Darkness Can You See The Stars the spring performance/fundraiser on Saturday, April 28, 3pm at St. Philip’s Church 204 west 134thStreet. The performance will celebrate Village Elders friend and supporter Ailey icon Dudley Williams, who danced the role of the elder minister at the works premiere April 30th, 2015, sadly this was Williams’ last performance. Joining the celebration are Harlem arts organizations Harlem School of the Arts dance division (under the direction of Aubrey Lynch), Uptown Dance Academy (Robin Williams Executive Director) pianist Charles Lovell (St. Philip’s Church) singing phenom LaFredrick Coaxner (Abyssinian Baptist Church) and Reverend Tykym Stallings (Lighthouse Ministries Inc., Harlem N.Y.). Continue reading

4/4/18 O&A NYC DANCE: Dougla Returns to Dance Theatre of Harlem Tonight

Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) begins their four performance New York season tonight at New York City Center. One of the season highlights is the much-anticipated revival of choreographer/Renaissance Man Geoffrey Holder’s Dougla. Dougla captures the pageantry, beauty and ritual of a the wedding day of a young Dougla couple from Trinidad. They are the offspring of Africans who were brought to the Caribbean as slaves and Indians who were brought as low cost labor after the abolition of slavery. Continue reading

1/18/18 O&A NYC DANCE: Martin: A Ballet By Gordon Parks ( Act IV The Assassin)

Martin Act IV Assassination

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.

Continue reading

1/17/18 O&A NYC DANCE: Martin Act III Letter From the Birmingham Jail

Martin Act III Letter

Martin Act III: Letter From the Birmingham Jail- Dr. King (John Jones) is arrested and while in jail he writes the now historic letter from the Birmingham Jail. With the help of Rosa Parks (Sheila Rohan) King is able to disseminate his message to the masses.  Continue reading

1/14/18 HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Martin: A Ballet By Gordon Parks (Prelude)

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Martin: a ballet by Gordon Parks, an original five-movement ballet chronicling the struggles of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Filmed in 1990 the work stars John Jones as Dr. King and Sheila Rohan as Rosa Parks, featuring choreography by Real Lamb. “Martin” (PBS, 1990),  about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. Parks served as executive producer, director, composer, keyboardist and documentary photographer for this boldly ambitious project. Continue reading

6/5/16 O&A NYC IN MEMORARIUM: Muhammad Ali

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A heart is not judged by how much you love;

but by how much you are loved by others.  

L Frank Baum from the Wizard of Oz  Continue reading

1/19/16 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Martin: A Ballet By John Parks- Act 1

Inspirational-TuesdayMartin Act 1 SHEILA ROHAN

Martin: A Ballet by Gordon Parks Act 1 Introduces us to John Jones as Martin Luther King, Sheila Rohan as Rosa Parks and James E Murphy as the Assassin. Continue reading

1/16/17(REPOST) HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Martin: A Ballet By Gordon Parks

Hollywood-Mondays

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Martin: a ballet by Gordon Parks, an original five-movement ballet chronicling the struggles of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Filmed in 1990 the work stars John Jones as Dr. King and Sheila Rohan as Rosa Parks, featuring choreography by Real Lamb. “Martin” (PBS, 1990),  about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. Parks served as executive producer, director, composer, keyboardist and documentary photographer for this boldly ambitious project. Continue reading