4/4/22 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: White Night Opening Credits

The opening ballet sequence, Le Jeune Homme et La Mort, originally choreographed by Roland Petit in 1946 and performed anew by Baryshnikov and Florence Faure, was filmed at the Bristol Hippodrome.  Continue reading

9/28/19 O&A NYC SATURDAY MORNING CONCERT: Motown Returns to The Apollo (1985)

Motown Returns to The Apollo (1985) a star studded celebration of the 50th anniversary and re-opening of The Apollo Theatre in Harlem, New York. Proceeds from the concert went to the Africare/Ethiopian Relief Fund. The program received a 1985 for Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Program. Continue reading

8/4/19 O&A NYC SUNDAY AFTERNOON JAZZ CONCERT: The Kings Of Tap- Gregory Hines, Bunny Briggs, Buster Brown, Jimmy Slyde and Sandman Sims


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Gregory Hines hosts tap legends Jimmy Slyde, Bunny Briggs, Buster Brown and Sandman Simms for the 1989 PBS special Gregory Hines’ Tap Dance in America. Continue reading

2/22/19 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: We Sing, We Dance- The Nicholas Brothers Story

We Sing, We Dance the Nicholas Brothers Story, a 1992 Arts and Entertainment documentary about the life of the Nicholas Brothers.  In addition to interviews of  Fayard and Harold Nicholas the documentary features Mikhail Baryshnikov, Cab Calloway, Hammer, Gregory Hines, Maurice Hines, Dorothy Nicholas, Morrow Clarke Peters, Leonard, Reed, Max Roach, and Bobby Short. Continue reading

8/27/18 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Gregory and Maurice Hines- Crazy Rhythm! (The Cotton Club Movie)

Gregory and Maurice Hines, true-life brothers played tap and brothers and rivals Delbert “Sandman” Williams (Gregory) and Clayton “Clay” Williams (Maurice) in The Cotton Club (1984). Continue reading

8/1/16 O&A NYC DANCE: Gregory Hines’ Tap Dance in America- Excerpt featuring

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Legendary Tap dancers Gregory Hines, Jimmy Slyde, Bunny Briggs, Sandman Simms performs during the 1989 PBS special Gregory Hines’ Tap Dance in America. Shot during rehearsal and performance at what used to be Billy Rose’s Diamond Horseshoe in New York, the special reunites cast members of previous Hines vehicles, including “Sophisticated Ladies” (the musical) and “Tap” (the movie). Continue reading

5/27/16 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Gregory and Maurice Hines

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Gregory and Maurice Hines, Harlem natives and child entertainers  were the sons of Alma Iola (Lawless) and Maurice Robert Hines, a dancer, musician, and actor. Maurice began his career at the age of five and Gregory at age two. Both studied tap dance at the Henry LeTang Dance Studio in Manhattan. LeTang recognized their talent and began choreographing numbers specifically for them patterned on the Nicholas Brothers. 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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(Repost) 10/9/20 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Sammy Davis Jr.- The Original Triple Threat

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Sammy Davis Junior

Samuel George “Sammy” Davis, Jr. was born on December 8, 1925. He was an African- American entertainer who broke many barriers and paved the way for entertainers in all  disciplines. Davis was primarily a dancer and singer, but he also received acclaim as an actor of stage and screen, musician, and impressionist. Davis died at age 64 in 1990, after spending 61 years in the profession he loved.  Continue reading

Shall We Dance Friday: Le Jeune Homme et la Mort – Mikhail Baryshnikov

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White-Nights

White Nights is a 1985 American film directed by Taylor Hackford and choreographed by Twyla Tharp and stars Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Jerzy Skolimowski, Helen Mirren and Isabella Rossellini. The movie opens with an abridged version of Roland Petite’s Le Jeune Homme et la Mort. The ballet was given the full Hollywood treatment. Continue reading