By Walter Rutledge
Another bout of Covid (our third slow dance) prevented me from seeing the new works presented during the first and second weeks of the Ailey season. When Covid and I finished our Rumba, I attended an All-Ailey matinee featuring four works, Night Creature, Cry, Survivors and Revelations. Continue reading
Carmen de Lavallade dancing to Quincy Jones’s “Soul Bossa Nova” with Wesley Fata on November 16, 1968. Ms. de Lavallade’s late husband, the great Geoffrey Holder, choreographed this piece This is jut an excerpt of a much longer dance. Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
Recently I had the extreme pleasure to see the Broadway smash hit Hadestown at the Walter Kerr Theater. The 2019 eight-time Tony Award winning musical is still wowing audiences with Anais Mitchell’s incredible lyric music score and touching book featuring dual love stories. Before we talk about Hadestown lets first have a Greek mythology tutorial. Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
The Paul Taylor Dance Company began its sixty-ninth season on Tuesday October 31 at the New York State Theater. The two-week fifteen performance season will offer a total of fourteen works by five choreographers. The season will present a world premieres by Larry Keigwin and Lauren Lovette, the return of a work by Amy Hall Garner, company premiere by and Ulysses Dove and nine Taylor classics.
Mary Lou’s Mass (1971) with John Parks, Dudley Williams and Clive Thompson and Hidden Rites (1973) with John Parks and Judith Jamison. Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
Philadelphia based Ballet X returned to New York City’s Joyce Theater for a five-day six performance season. The expectations were high for this ethnically diverse contemporary ballet company and the talented dancers rose to the occasion. It was unfortunate that the choreography and the programming were not able to support the performers despite their valiant efforts. Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
In 2015 O&A NYC Editor-in-Chief Walter Rutledge interviewed Debbie Allen at the Faison Firehouse Theater for Dance Noir Magazine (DNM). The print article would discuss her relationship with Katherine Dunham. The video was produced as visual notes for the upcoming Dunham article. When the magazine suspended publication, out of respect for DNM Founder/Editor-in-Chief Carol Lloyd, we held the material with hopes of eventually printing the article for DNM. After eight years Ms. Allen’s words remain relevant, inspiring and informative and should be shared. We call this first installment Empathy. Continue reading
Ulysses Dove proclaiming a thoroughly exhilarating vision of female power and strength in Vespers. Inspired by Dove’s memories of his grandmother’s place of worship, this dramatic work showcases the athleticism and grace of six female dancers who are propelled by Mikel Rouse’s profound electronic score. Continue reading
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.
Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven: Odes to Love and Loss is a work by Ulysses Dove. Set to Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s haunting composition Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, the ballet features six dancers; and is a moving tribute described by Dove to the “people I loved. Continue reading
The Dance of the Village Elders are back ! This time we exercise, dance and just have fun through the zoom platform or in-person at R.A.I.N. Nereid 
The Dance of the Village Elders are back ! This time we exercise, dance and just have fun through the zoom platform or in-person at R.A.I.N. Nereid 