10/20/23 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: House of Flowers From Carmen & Geoffrey (2005)

This House of Flowers excerpt featuring Geoffrey Holder and Carmen De Lavallade  is from the 2005 documentary Carmen & Geoffrey. Holder and his brother Boscoe talk about their early roots in Trinidad, forming a dance company and Holder meeting his wife (De Lavallade) in the 1955 production of House of Flowers. Continue reading

10/19/23 O&A NYC ART WILL NEVER DIE: TRACY 168 – Bonus Feature From Just To Get a Rep Graffiti Documentary

TRACY 168 is famous for Wild Style lettering and being one of the most prolific early writers in New York. Bonus clip from the graffiti film Just To Get A Rep. Unfortunately Michael Tracy died of a heart attack on September 3rd. His artistry will live on forever. Continue reading

10/9/23 O&A NYC HISTORY: The Ugly Truth About Christopher Columbus

Growing up, we were all taught that Christopher Columbus discovered America. However, this is not the case at all. Columbus got lost looking for India, and instead landed in the Caribbean. Continue reading

10/3/23 O&A INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Reframing the Narrative: Blacks in Ballet | A Kennedy Center Digital Stage Original

Eleven black dancers from historically white ballet companies were commissioned by The Kennedy Center to create and perform a brand new ballet in just two weeks. This is their story…

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8/29/23 O&A NYC DANCE: Sneek Peek at THPAC Documentary- To The Souls of Our Feet

By Walter Rutledge

On August 18 and 19 the Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center (THPAC) began two days of interviews with dancers, choreographers and directors about their experiences with Thelma Hill and THPAC for the upcoming documentary To The Souls of Our Feet. The two days of filming captured the experiences of six artists, (George Faison, Alfred Gallman, Dyane Harvey Salaam, Abdel Salaam, Edisa Weeks, Jill Williams and Lakai Worrell), who lives and careers were directly impacted by Ms. Hill and/or THPAC.

THPAC Documentary Preview

Here is an excerpted from the upcoming documentary with the one and only dance and theater legend George Faison. The final filming will take place in the fall and we will keep you inform as our documentary “To The Souls of Our Feet” get one step closer to coming to a theater near you. For more information about the Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center and/or to make a donation to the “To The Souls of Our Feet” documentary project visit https://www.thelmahill.org/. An additional filming date will take place later in the fall. 

8/8/23 O&A NYC DANCE/FILM: Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center Bringing Its Groundbreaking History To The Screen

By Walter Rutledge

Please excuse my self indulgent opening digression. It is the perfect example of  history being rewritten and romanticized to create propaganda more palatable to the American founding fathers myth. . Continue reading

4/22/23 O&A NYC FILM REVIEW: An American Ballet Story- The Harkness Ballet

By Walter Rutledge

An American Ballet Story is the long-awaited documentary about the rise and fall of the Harkness Ballet. The company and school had an almost mythical two-decade impact on dance and helped changed the artform forever. The 94-minute documentary, which was seven years in the making, tells the unvarnished story of the now defunct and largely forgotten Harkness Ballet of New York. Continue reading

4/18/23 O&A NYC MORE HARKNESS STORIES: Margo Sappington

By Margo Sappington

Vicente Nebrada called me in 1973 because he had seen my ballet “Weewis” which I choreographed for the Joffrey Ballet. It was a ballet for 3 couples set to a commissioned score for rock band and chamber orchestra. He said the Harkness Ballet needed something like that for their repertoire and I said, “Well, I do have something else in mind.” He stated that would be up to Mrs. Harkness and I would need to discuss it with her.

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4/13/23 O&A NYC MORE HARKNESS STORIES: Cheryl Clark- A Few 1966 and Beyond Harkness Memories for Walter Rutledge

A Few 1966 and Beyond Harkness Memories for Walter Rutledge
By Cheryl Clark

Dear Walter,

I am sending you the above attached Playbill Legacy Bio when I received the 2019 Legacy Award (that is housed now in the Jerome Robbins collection at Lincoln Center for Performing Arts Library…). It mentions my great appreciation for Mrs. Harkness and Patricia Wilde, 1st Director of Harkness House who recommended me to Mrs. H. Both gave me my full scholarship at age 15 at Harkness House for Ballet Arts, and it mentions many of the great teachers, etc.  In another article I will try to send you, I mention the great pianists that Mrs. Harkness hired to play class for us training- hugely inspiring, particularly John Anderson and John Childs. Continue reading

4/7/23 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Ballet For Life: Harkness Ballet- Finis Jhung

In the dance film autobiography Ballet For Life: Harkness Ballet former dance and acclaimed teacher  Finis Jhung reminisces about his years with the Harkness Ballet where he reached the pinnacle in his career and discovered Buddhism, which dramatically changed the course of his life. Continue reading