Gone Are the Days! (aka Purlie Victorious / The Man From C.O.T.T.O.N.) is a 1963 American comedy-drama film starring Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee and Godfrey Cambridge. It is based on the 1961 Broadway play Purlie Victorious, which was written by Davis. Continue reading
The Nightmare Before Christmas also known as one of Tim Burton’s biggest project.American stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and produced and conceived by Tim Burton. Continue reading
Cindy is a 1978 American musical television film that features an entirely African-American cast. Directed by William A. Graham, the film is an urbanized retelling of Cinderella. Continue reading
“Hello, Dolly!” won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1965, and Armstrong received a Grammy for Best Vocal Performance, Male. Louis Armstrong also performed the song (together with Barbra Streisand) in the popular 1969 film Hello, Dolly! Continue reading
As the Harlem Renaissance flourishes in jazzy New York City, Pauline (Vanessa Williams), Esther (Lynn Whitfield) and Alice (Jasmine Guy) struggle to survive. By day, they toil at dreary jobs, dreaming of stardom, riches and happiness. By night, they dance their troubles away at the famous Savoy Ballroom. But when World War II appears on the horizon, the girls find their fortunes unfolding too unevenly to reconcile, and they inevitably begin to drift apart. Continue reading
It’s the Lowdown of Wicked Old Basin Street! And the Music That Made It Wicked! A gambling hall owner relocates from New Orleans to Chicago and entertains his patrons with hot jazz by Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Woody Herman & his Orchestra, and others. Continue reading
Lindy hop is the granddaddy of all swing dances, a blend of African and European dance influences that is both uniquely American… and now spans the globe. Lindy hop takes its name from the Charles Lindbergh’s flight to Paris in 1927.
If Tango is sultry, and Ballroom dancing is aloof, lindy hop is joyful and playful. Lindy has a grounded, flowing style that closely reflects its music — from the late 20s hot jazz to the early 40s big bands. Harlem, New York, and in particular the Savoy Ballroom (“The Home of Happy Feet”) is where the dance was developed and innovated from the 1920s onward. Based on earlier dances such as the Charleston, the Black Bottom and the Breakaway, the dance evolved and spread over the decades along with the new swing music.
Hellzapoppin’ (In Full Color)
And while the dance continues to evolve today, contemporary lindy hoppers still strive for that same spirit, inventiveness, and musicality of the pioneers of lindy hop like Norma Miller, Dean Collins, Frankie Manning and many more.
Sidney Poitier, in one of his most-celebrated roles, appears as Virgil Tibbs, a Philadelphia homicide detective who, while visiting a small Mississippi town, will find himself falsely arrested for a murder and then, in a strained collaboration with the town’s sheriff (Rod Steiger), stays on to help solve the murder. Continue reading
Chris Rock visits beauty salons and hairstyling battles, scientific laboratories and Indian temples to explore the way hairstyles impact the activities, pocketbooks, sexual relationships, and self-esteem of the black community in this exposé of comic proportions that only he could pull off. A raucous adventure prompted by Rock’s daughter approaching him and asking, “Daddy, how come I don’t have good hair?” 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 
