3/12/16 O&A NYC DANCE: The Vortex- From Alvin Ailey’s The River

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Jennifer Gelfand performs the Vortex section of Alvin Ailey’s The River. Originally set on American Ballet Theatre in 1970 the work was performed by Gelfand during a tour entitled  Vortex section of Alvin Ailey’s The RiverFernando Bujones and Stars of the Boston Ballet in 1993. The work was set to music by Duke Ellington.  Continue reading

3/11/16 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Jerome Robbins- Dances at a Gathering

Shall We Dance

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“The ballet stays and exists in the time of the music and its work. Nothing is out of it, I believe; all gestures and moods, steps, etc. are part of the fabric of the music’s time and its meaning to me.” – Jerome Robbins

Dances at a Gathering

Choreography: Jerome Robbins (1969)
Music: Chopin
Pianist: Ryoko Hisayama
Opéra de Paris (2014)

Ludmila Pagliero – en rose
Amandine Albison – en mauve
Nolwenn Daniel – Amarelo
Aurélie Dupont – en vert
Charline Giezendanner – en bleu
Mathieu Ganio – en brun
Karl Paquette – en violet
Josua Hoffalt – en vert
Emmanuel Thibault – en rouge brique
Christophe Duquenne – en bleu
Nolwenn Daniel – en jaune

3/4/16 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet Balcony Scene – Featuring Marcia Haydee and Richard Cragun

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Balcony scene from John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet featuring Marcia Haydee and Richard Cragun with music by Sergei Prokofiev. Continue reading

2/22/16 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Misty Copeland- The Power Of Ballet

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Misty Copeland makes history as the first African-American female principal dancer with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre. Copeland, who came from meager beginnings, became interested in dance at age 13 (usually considered too late for ballet). A true prodigy her talent propelled her to dance en pointe after three months of training and performing within her first year. She shares  her optimism and reflects on her path to stardom.   Continue reading

2/12/16 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: First Look At Misty Copeland Channeling Edgar Degas For Harper’s Bazaar

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Misty Copeland, principal dancer American Ballet Theatre, appears in the March issue of Harper’s Bazaar to recreate iconic ballet inspired paintings and sculpture from impressionist painter Edgar Degas. Congratulations to Copeland for once again disrupting the historical whiteness of ballet. 

56bca4611a00009c01ab2736Copeland as Swaying Dancer (Dancer in Green); Oscar de la Renta dress, $5,490

Photographers Ken Browar and Deborah Ory captured the world-renowned dancer for the eye-catching editorial spread. The resemblance to Degas’ original works of dancers at the Paris Opéra Ballet is uncanny. Copeland nails the graceful poses while dressed in high fashion designs by Valentino, Alexander McQueen, Carolina Herrera, and Oscar de la Renta that look like they were literally plucked from each painting and sculpture.

56bca4091a00009c01ab2735Copeland as Degas’s Dancer; Carolina Herrera top, $1,490, skirt, $4,990

In the article, she explains why she love to dance. “I was drawn to ballet and performing for a reason that I think a lot of people can’t really understand or relate to,” she says. “People think it’s like, ‘You’re out there,’ or ‘You’re exposed.’ But I felt safe when I was on the stage, like no one could get to me. It was the first time in my life that I felt protected.”

56bca4b81800002d0080bc14Copeland as Degas’s Little Dancer Aged Fourteen; Alexander McQueen dress, $4,655, and corset, $4,525

At 33, she’s in the midst of the most illuminating pas de deux with pop culture for a classical dancer since Mikhail Baryshnikov went toe-to-toe with Gregory Hines in White Nights.

56bca3aa1a00009c01ab2734-1Copeland as Swaying Dancer (Dancer in Green); Oscar de la Renta dress, $5,490

Degas’s ballet works, which the artist began creating in the 1860s and continued making until the years before his death, in 1917, were infused with a very modern sensibility.  He offered images of young girls congregating, practicing, laboring, dancing, training, and hanging around studios and the backstage areas of the theater. 

1454957845-hbz-030116-welldegas10Alberta Ferretti dress, $28,090

Copeland is engaged to Olu Evans, an attorney, who she’s been with for more than a decade. They live together in an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. She admits to an “intensifying” designer-footwear addiction, and while she’s still working out the details of her nuptials, she confesses giddily that Christian Louboutin is making her shoes for the occasion.

1455035644-hbz-030116-welldegas03Roberto Cavalli skirt, price upon request

Misty Copeland- The Art Of Dance

Video shot by Sandy Chase

Photography by Ken Browar and Deborah Ory of the NYC Dance Project

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1/24/16 O&A NYC GOSPEL SUNDAY: Act V Martin: A Ballet By Gordon Parks- Mourning Place

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The final act takes place after the death of Dr. King . John Jones (Dr Martin Luther King) Sheila Rohan (Rosa Parks) and James E. Murphy (Assassin). Continue reading

1/22/16 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Martin: A Ballet By Gordon Parks ( Act IV The Assassin)

Shall We Dance

Martin Act IV Assassination

The Fourth Act of Martin: A Ballet By Gordon Parks starring John Jones as Dr. King, Sheila Rohan as Rosa Park and James E. Murphy as the Assassin.

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1/19/16 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Martin: A Ballet By John Parks- Act 1

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Martin: A Ballet by Gordon Parks Act 1 Introduces us to John Jones as Martin Luther King, Sheila Rohan as Rosa Parks and James E Murphy as the Assassin. Continue reading