The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performed two excerpts from his masterwork Revelations on the weekly television variety show The Hollywood Palace (1968). The episode hosted by Diahann Carroll helped give the then fledgling dance company national attention. The cast included Judith Jamison, George Faison and Kelvin Rotardier. Continue reading
Category Archives: Dance History
12/13/16 O&A NYC DANCE 12 DAYS OF NUTCRACKER: Nutcracker ]Pas De Deux (Balanchine)
Merrill Ashley and Sean Lavery dance the Nutcracker Pas De Deux in a perfect demonstration of Balanchine’s style and technique. Continue reading
11/25/16 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Revelations Excerpts- Hollywood Palace (1968)
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performed two excerpts from his masterwork Revelations on the weekly television variety show The Hollywood Palace (1968). The episode hosted by Diahann Carroll helped give the then fledgling dance company national attention. The cast included Judith Jamison, George Faison, Kelvin Rotardier, and Dudley Williams. Continue reading
11/15/16 O&A NYC PREVIEW: Winter At Westbeth
Winter At Westbeth, a documentary film by Australian filmmaker Rohan Spong, follows the lives of three seasoned artists living in New York City’s Westbeth Artists Housing. The film makes its international premiere at the IFC Center, 323 Avenue of the Americas, as part of DOC NYC; New York’s annual festival of documentary films.
11/4/16 O&A NYC DANCE: Alex Smith Jr. Honored At Bessies
By Walter Rutledge
In life there are no detours, it is always the course appointed. Despite all of our plans and dreams we can count on the universe to add some unexpected twists and turns. Thelma Hill Preforming Arts Center’s Executive Chairman Alex Smith Jr. knows this all to well. In 1995 Smith become the guiding force of the organization by proxy, now twenty-one years later he was honored with a Service to the Field Award at the 29th New York Dance and Performance Awards- The Bessies. Continue reading
10/26/16 O&A NYC DANCE ENCORE PERFORMANCE: Banda (excerpt) Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade (Repost From 10/3/14)
Geoffrey Holder’s Banda dance debuted in the 1954 Truman Capote/Harold Arlen musical House Of Flowers. Holder the Baron of The Cemetery (based on the Haitian Loa of Death Baron Samedi) and received both a performer and choreographer credit in the program. The Broadway musical takes place somewhere in the West Indies during Mardi Gras weekend. Continue reading
10/25/16 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Sylvie Guillem- Mademoiselle Non (1993)
Sylvie Guillem joined the corps de ballet of the Paris Opera at age fifteen. A dance superstar whose breathtaking technique ranks her beside the likes of Nureyev and Baryshnikov the program centers on film of Guillem rehearsing and performing a range of pieces, both contemporary and classical, which display her astonishing virtuosity. Continue reading
8/12/16 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Natalia Makarova- Dying Swan
“Her performances set standards of artistry and aristocracy of dance which mark her as the finest ballerina of her generation in the West”- The History of Dance. Continue reading
8/6/16 (REPOST) Tribute To Dudley Williams: A Song For You (1986)
In 1972, Alvin Ailey created the elegiac solo Love Songs for dancer Dudley Williams. The sixteen minute solo, composed in three sections includes A Song for You by Donny Hathaway; Poppies by Nina Simone; and He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Brother by Donny Hathaway. Many thought of the work as the male equivalent of the female solo Cry (1971). Continue reading
6/17/16 O&A NYC- A CELEBRATION OF LIFE: Loretta Abbott
Loretta Abbott, dancer, actress, singer and choreographer passed away on Sunday June 5, 2016. A natural performer Abbott had two passions: her love for dance that spanned over 70 years, and her allegiance to the Harlem community where she lived her entire life. Continue reading