A Zoot Suit (for My Sunday Gal) performed by Paul White and Dorothy Dandridge from the 30 minute short film A Zoot Suit (with a A Reet Pleat) (1942) written by Ray Gilbert and Robert O’Brien (as Bob O’Brien). Continue reading
Category: Dance History
9/28/19 O&A NYC SATURDAY MORNING CONCERT: Motown Returns to The Apollo (1985)
Motown Returns to The Apollo (1985) a star studded celebration of the 50th anniversary and re-opening of The Apollo Theatre in Harlem, New York. Proceeds from the concert went to the Africare/Ethiopian Relief Fund. The program received a 1985 for Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Program. Continue reading
9/22/19 O&A NYC DANCE- REVIEW: Legacy- Creative Outlet and Deeply Rooted at BAM Fisher
By Walter Rutledge
Legacy, a shared concert between Brooklyn based Jamel Gaine’s Creative Outlet and Chicago’s Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, presented a well curated evening of dance theatre works at BAM Fisher on Friday and Saturday September 13 and 14, 2019. Founding directors Jamel Gaines and Deeply Rooted’s Kevin Jeff (both Queens natives and Bernice Johnson Dance School alums) presented a concert of shared dance philosophies. The evening had a kindred aesthetic; presenting seven works spanning thirty-five years. Continue reading
9/16/19 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth Dance So Near and Yet So Far (You’ll Never Get Rich – 1941)
You’ll Never Get Rich (Columbia Pictures) is a 1941 Hollywood musical comedy film with a wartime theme directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth. The picture was very successful at the box office, turning Hayworth into a major star, and provided a welcome boost to Astaire who felt his career.
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9/15/19 O&A NYC SUNDAY AFTERNOON JAZZ CONCERT: Bad Blood- Ulysses Dove
Bad Blood received its World Premiere, in 1984 on Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal. Featuring music by Laurie Anderson (Gravity’s Angel and Walking and Falling) and Peter Gabriel (Excellent Birds) the work in an erotic tour de force battle of the sexes. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre premiered the work in 1986. It is one of seven Dove ballets in the Ailey Company repertoire. Continue reading
8/3/19 O&A NYC DANCE: A. Piazzolla- Libertango
Libertango is a composition by tango composer Astor Piazzolla, recorded and published in 1974 in Milan. The title is a portmanteau merging “Libertad” (Spanish for liberty) and “Tango”, symbolizing Piazzolla’s break from Classical Tango to Tango Nuevo. Continue reading
8/15/19 O&A NYC DANCE: The Bessies Honor Dance Pioneer Joan Myers Brown
By Walter Rutledge
The New York Dance and Performance Awards also known as The Bessies will honor Philadelphia dance matriarch Joan Myers Brown with the 2019 Bessie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Dance. “[Brown’s] work has inspired dancers and educated audiences in ways that have enriched and strengthened dance in our country and we look forward to celebrating [her] accomplishments,” said Lucy Sexton, executive director of the New York Dance and Performance Awards. The award will be presented at the 35th annual Bessie Awards ceremony on Monday, October 14, at 7:30pm, at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, 566 LaGuardia Place, New York. Continue reading
8/4/19 O&A NYC SUNDAY AFTERNOON JAZZ CONCERT: The Kings Of Tap- Gregory Hines, Bunny Briggs, Buster Brown, Jimmy Slyde and Sandman Sims
Gregory Hines hosts tap legends Jimmy Slyde, Bunny Briggs, Buster Brown and Sandman Simms for the 1989 PBS special Gregory Hines’ Tap Dance in America. Continue reading