Frances Taylor Davis shares her life history as a pioneering dancer with Katherine Dunham Dance Company, her marriage to Miles Davis and renewal after as a survivor. Continue reading
No comments
Category Archives: Dance History
2/2/21 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Cicely Tyson Remembering Arthur Mitchell
Cicely Tyson and Arthur Mitchell had a friendship the spanned almost 60 years. Tyson shared her heartfelt memories of their meeting and endearing friendship at the December 3, 2018 memorial at Riverside Church, New York City. Continue reading
1/15/21 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater- Chroma, Grace, Takademe, Revelations (2015)
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs Revelations, Chroma, Grace, and Takademe in this 2015 rebroadcast. Continue reading
12/15/20 O&A NYC DANCE: Ailey- Celebrating Glenn Allen Sims & Linda Celeste Sims
Husband and wife Glenn Allen Sims and Linda Celeste Sims have danced with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for more than 20 years. Continue reading
11/27/20 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: The First Moonwalk- Bill Bailey At The Apollo Theatre (1955)
Bill Bailey, brother of singer Pearl Bailey, is frequently credited with inventing the moonwalk because of a tap dancing move called backslide; making this one of the first ever moonwalks on film Continue reading
11/13/20 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: CARMEN and GEOFFREY
CARMEN and GEOFFREY, an intimate documentary, which was awarded Best Film at Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival 2009, follows the astonishing five-decade marriage and careers of two legends of the stage: Carmen de Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder
10/20/20 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Le Sacre du Printemps
Le Sacre du printemps was originally choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky for the Ballets Russes . Commissioned by company impresario Serge Diaghilev and set to music by Igor Stravinsky, the ballet premiered 29 May 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris. Continue reading
9/21/20 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Hellzapoppin’ (Lindy Hop Scene In Full Color)
Lindy hop is the granddaddy of all swing dances, a blend of African and European dance influences that is both uniquely American… and now spans the globe. Lindy hop takes its name from the Charles Lindbergh’s flight to Paris in 1927.
If Tango is sultry, and Ballroom dancing is aloof, lindy hop is joyful and playful. Lindy has a grounded, flowing style that closely reflects its music — from the late 20s hot jazz to the early 40s big bands. Harlem, New York, and in particular the Savoy Ballroom (“The Home of Happy Feet”) is where the dance was developed and innovated from the 1920s onward. Based on earlier dances such as the Charleston, the Black Bottom and the Breakaway, the dance evolved and spread over the decades along with the new swing music.
Hellzapoppin’ (In Full Color)
And while the dance continues to evolve today, contemporary lindy hoppers still strive for that same spirit, inventiveness, and musicality of the pioneers of lindy hop like Norma Miller, Dean Collins, Frankie Manning and many more.
8/31/20 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Pie Pie Blackbird (1932) | Eubie Blake Nina Mae McKinney Nicholas Brothers
Pie Pie Blackbird, like a lot of classic shorts from the time is nothing more than an excuse to spotlight some great music from the period. Continue reading
8/17/20 O&A NYC DANCE: Ailey Celebrates Ellington (1974)
Alvin Ailey first began sketching out a suite of Ellington works on the newly formed the Repertory Workshop of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center which later became known as Ailey II. Continue reading
