2/10/24 O&A NYC DANCE REVIEW: Philadanco at the Joyce

By Walter Rutledge

The Philadelphia Dance Company, better known by its sobriquet Philadanco, is having a stellar New York City season at the Joyce Theater.  The all-to-short four-day five performance series will conclude to today Saturday, February 10 with two performances: a 2pm family matinee and an 8pm finale. The season has successfully highlighted the works of four emerging choreographers Tommie-Waheed Evans, Nijawwon Matthews, Ray Mercer and Chris Rudd: thus, continuing the company’s role in perpetuating the Black dance tradition. Continue reading

2/8/24 O&A NYC DANCE PREVIEW: Tommie Waheed Evans- Philadanco

Congratulations to choreographer Tommie Waheed Evans! His latest work for Philadanco Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth has its New York City this week, February 6th through February 10 January 10th at the Joyce Theater. Continue reading

2/5/24 O&A NYC DANCE PREVIEW: Ray Mercer- Philadanco- Balance of Power

By Walter Rutledge


Dance/choreographer Ray Mercer is living his best life out loud! The Omaha, Nebraska native can be seen eight times a week as a member of the Broadway juggernaut The King Lion. This week Mercer’s artistry will be on full display at the Joyce theater during the New York Season of Philadanco, February 6th through February 10th at the Joyce Theater. Continue reading

1/15/24 O&A NYC DANCE REVIEW: Dallas Black Dance Theatre

By Walter Rutledge

The Black Dallas Dance Company (BDDC) began a two-day performance series at the Joyce theater on January 11th, 2024. The series was part of the Joyce Theater‘s eighth annual American Dance Platform. Jacob’s Pillow Associate Curator Melanie George presented a trilogy of performances and performers with a roster including Jazz at the Joyce (1/9 and 1/10) Soles of Duende (1/11 and 1/14) and Dallas Black Dance Theatre (1/12 and 1/13). Continue reading

9/17/23 O&A NYC REVIEW: Is Heart of Brick A Black Queer Sex In The City?

By Walter Rutledge

The Joyce Theater’s fall 2023 season began September 15 with the interdisciplinary gay romance saga Heart of Brick. The theatrical production combined live vocal music, spoken narrations, voiceovers, dance, lighting and a clean, simple set design to recreate an evening at Langstons, New York City’s oldest Black gay bar. This is the first presentation in Director of Programming Danni Gee augural season, and in the truest downtown dance style she left the audience with something to talk about.   Continue reading

4/9/23 O&A NYC DANCE REVIEW: A.I.M. By Kyle Abraham

By Walter Rutledge

A.I.M. By Kyle Abraham presented their New York season from April 4th through April 9th at the Joyce Theater. The well curated program presented five works by three choreographers including three world premieres. All the works, which ranged from dance theatre/storytelling to pure dance, fit the A.I.M. By Abraham aesthetic surprisingly well, this successfully produced a visual cohesive, but uneven evening of dance. Continue reading

1/18/23 O&A NYC REVIEW: Ronald K. Brown/Evidence

By Walter Rutledge

Ronald K. Brown/Evidence began its New York season at the Joyce Theater on Tuesday January 17 and runs through Sunday, January 22. The six-day, seven performance offering presents three ensemble works spanning twenty-four years of Brown’s artistry. The season provides an insight into the thirty-eight-year journey of Brown and Evidence. Continue reading

10/27/19 O&A NYC DANCE REVIEW: A.I.M (Abraham In Motion) At The Joyce

By Walter Rutledge 

A.I.M. (Abraham In Motion) presented their New York City season at the Joyce Theater Tuesday, October 15 through Sunday, October 20, 2019. The six- day, seven performance season offered five works, including three world premieres and one company premieres, by three choreographers. The concise, focused and extremely audience friendly program was a successful blend of both visceral and cerebral movement and imagery.

In Big Rings (2019 World Premiere) choreographer and company member Keerati Jinakunwiphat presented a cleanly crafted ensemble work for six dancers.  Jinakunwiphat clearly understands the craft of choreography, approaching this work with strong compositional form and design. Extremely fluent in “Abraham”; she proficiently worked in Abraham’s vernacular and canon. The use of music from different genres and the well employed choreographic device of theme and development kept the work fast past and well defined. This was especially evident in the second movement of the work where she brought freshness to Camille Saint-Saens “chestnut” The Swan.

Show Pony (2018) presented performer Marcella Lewis and choreographer Abraham in a very favorable light. In true Abraham style the choreographer established a finite movement vocabulary; which he manipulated, variated and developed throughout. Shifting between pure and gesture driven movement (with a pleasant dash of personality) Abraham created a work that was dynamic, original and fun.   

Clad in a metallic gold unitard Lewis danced with unmitigated aplomb; commanding the stage and at times relegated the audience to unwitting voyeurism.  If the arms are the language of the dance, Abraham allowed her to speak in a clear choreographic voice. She gave new meaning to the phrase “the hostess with the mostest”; when retreating to a pool of clear light she smiled while offering salutations and greetings to the audience. 

Trisha Brown’s Solo Olos (1976 company premiere) epitomizes the phase God mic. The work for five dancers and initially performed in silence took an unexpected twist when dancer Donovan Reed jumped off the stage and sat on the first row with a wireless microphone. The almost Deis Machine devise became an omnipresent dictate guiding the dancers through the movement, which consisted of reversing many of the movement passages. This thinking man’s (excuse me- thinking person’s) abstract ballet lived up to it’s title. 

Cocoon (2019 World Premiere), a solo choreographed and performed by Kyle Abraham, opened with a chorus of singers placed in the audience in front of the stage. Performing music by Bjork (arranged by lead singer Nicholas Ryan Gant) the nine- member chorus accompanied Abraham; who began in a crouched position on the floor in a circle of Azurite blue light. As if on a slow- moving carousel Abraham unfolded his body shifting position as Dan Scully’s light design expanded to eventually encompass the entire stage.

The choreography shifted between explosive passages to exploring the plastique of movement through sustained stillness. Abraham removed the sash that sequestered his shirt, and an offstage gust of wind surrounded him. Symbolically his motionless form was being propelled to a new metaphysical plain- a metamorphosis.  

The evening concluded with Studies On A Farewell (2019 world premiere) an episodic ensemble work for eight dancers and choreographed by Abraham in collaboration with A.I.M. Set to Four Studies by Nico Muhly and performed live by Katherine Liccardo and Chelsea Starbuck Smith in tandem with a recorded track. The work depicted a series of encounters and partings tinged with a collective personal, almost autobiographic feeling. Jinakunwiphat slowly walking backward alone retreating upstage into the darkness culminating theballet and the evening.

Abraham continues to share his unique gift of abstract storytelling. The sophisticated and aesthetically satisfying A.I.M. New York season combined solid choreography with high production value.

In Photo:  2) Tamisha Guy, Marcella Lewis, Javon Jones, and Catherine Ellis Kirk  3) Marcella Lewis  4) Catherine Ellis Kirk 5) Kyle Abraham  6) Tamisha Guy and Javon Jones

Photo by: 1) Tatiana Wills 2) Sharen Bradford 3) Christopher Duggan 4, 5 & 6) Stephen Schreiber 

10/14/19 O&A NYC WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK: October 14- 21, 2019

Fall is finally here! In New York that means cool mornings, sweater weather afternoons, jacket evenings and the arts. We have street art in Da Bronx, 90’s R&B in Harlem and Dance honors its own in the Village.  Here are a few of the many events happening in the city that never sleeps, guaranteed to keep you Out and About. Continue reading

The 7/17/19 O&A NYC WHATS HAPPENING THIS WEEK: July 17 through July 23, 2019

Heatwave! New York City is getting ready to become steamy, hot, and sticky- yeah summer in NYC is the best! We have great events indoors and out. There is interactive art on Randall’s Island, Dance in Central Park and on Fire Island, and a jazz brunch in Harlem. Here are a few of the many events happening in the city that never sleeps, guaranteed to keep you Out and About. Continue reading