12/1/23 O&A NYC WORLD AIDS DAY: Ulysses Dove- Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven

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

8/19/23 O&A NYC ITS SATURDAY- ANYTHING GOES: Carmen DeLavallade- The Creation (TEDxEast 2012)

Dancer, actor and choreographer Carmen DeLavallade performs The Creation featuring choreography by her husband Geoffrey Holder. Holder also designed the costume and music. 
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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

6/11/23 O&A NYC DANCE REVIEW: Ailey At BAM

By Walter Rutledge

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater presented a Brooklyn dance series June 6th thru 11th at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). The six-day seven performance series offered two well curated programs of new works and Ailey classics. The Saturday evening performance consisted of four works by four modern dance luminaries, Kyle Abraham, Robert Battle, Ron Brown and Paul Taylor. Continue reading

2/14/24 O&A NYC ST. VALENTINE’S DAY DANCE: Dudley Williams- Alvin Ailey’s Love Songs

d90704264383da96da61f51bc870f967In 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

5/20/23 O&A NYC GOING BACK TO AFRICA WITH WALESTYLEZ: Portable Showcases Dance Steps As He Perform Hit Song Zazoo

Habeeb Olalomi Oyegbile popularly known as Portable or Dr Zeh is a Nigerian singer, rapper and songwriter. Continue reading

5/17/23 O&A NYC WaleStylez DANCE PARTY: Lil Buck & LoJoWerkz Tulsa Race Riot Memorial -T21 Preview (2014)

Lil Buck teams up with LoJoWerkz to launch their T21 Project. This is an excerpt of a performance commemorating Black Wall Street and the Tragedy of the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, performed on the anniversary of the Riot (May 31st) on the historic grounds where the events took place.
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4/30/23 O&A NYC DANCE HISTORY: The Life of Alvin Ailey

Dancer and choreographer  Alvin Ailey revolutionized the world of dance by honoring the African American experience. Unfortunately his personal journey was not without its struggles.
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4/21/23 O&A NYC ITS SATURDAY- ANYTHING GOES: The Kiss by Margo Sappington


Dancers Valentina Kozlova and Sven Toorvald performs choreographer Margo Sappington‘s Rodin inspired duet The Kiss 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