1/3/23 O&A NYC DANCE REVIEW: The Genius of Alvin Ailey

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

10/6/23 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Alvin Ailey’s “Mary Lou’s Mass” and “Hidden Rites” Excerpts

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

6/18/21 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Ailey Juneteenth Celebration

Ailey Celebrates Juneteenth is an uplifting program that features performance highlights from Alvin Ailey’s Cry and Revelations, as well as Rennie Harris’ Lazarus. Continue reading

(Repost) 7/23/20 O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Jamison, Rotardier, and Faison Perform Revelations Excerpts- Hollywood Palace (1968)

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The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performed two excerpts from his masterwork Revelations on the weekly television variety show The Hollywood Palace (1968). The episode hosted by Diahann Carroll helped give the then fledgling dance company national attention. The cast included Judith Jamison, George Faison and Kelvin Rotardier Continue reading

6/26/20 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: A Hymn for Alvin Ailey- A Documentary Film

The documentary film A Hymn for Alvin Ailey goes behind the scenes of Judith Jamison’s Hymn and gives you a look at Alvin Ailey’s life from the perspective of those who knew him best. Continue reading

4/17/20 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Judith Jamison- Josephslegende (The Legend of Joseph)

Josephslegende (The Legend of Joseph), Op. 63, is a ballet in one act for the Ballets Russes based on the story of Potiphar’s Wife, with a libretto by Hofmannsthal and Kessler and music by Richard Strauss. Composed in 1912–14, it premiered at the Paris Opera on 14 May 1914. Continue reading

12/8/19 O&A NYC DANCE: A Conversation With Yannick LeBrun- Ailey’s Danseur Noble

By Walter Rutledge 

A danseur noble is a male dancer who projects great nobility of character. A dancer who performs at the highest theatrical level combining exceptional grace, technique and strength. In a prior review I referred to Ailey principal dancer Yannick LeBrun as a danseur noble. It was not one performance or one season that brought me to that conclusion, but a career collective. Continue reading

12/18/18 O&A NYC DANCE: Linda Celeste Sims- Pure Light( originally posted 12/3/15)

By Walter Rutledge

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Outstanding performers have always been the hallmark of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Dancers that consistently test the technical and artistic boundaries of modern dance remain a fundamental part of founder Alvin Ailey’s continuing legacy. Artists Carmen DeLavalallade, Dudley Williams, Judith Jamison, Miguel Godreau, Linda Kent, Sara Yarborough, Sarita Allen, Gary deLoatch, Desmond Richardson, and Renee Robinson all possessed an innate ability beyond technique, a God given gift that unfortunately cannot be taught. When the stage lights hit these special individuals it is refracted into dazing, flawless, pure light that pulls you in… moth to flame. Celeste Linda Sims is pure light. Continue reading

11/23/18 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Khalia Campbell- Living Her Dream

By Walter Rutledge

Dancer Khalia Campbell is living her dream! Years of dedication, sacrifice and ole fashion hard work has taken this Bronx native to her “dream job” as a member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Campbell will make her New York City Center debut during the company’s fall season November 28 through December 30. Continue reading

11/22/18 O&A NYC WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK: November 22 through December 1, 2018 (Including Thanksgiving Weekend Guide)- Art, Dance, Film, Music, Theatre and More


Thanksgiving signals the official start of the holiday season. It is also the beginning of the holiday arts season and this week the excitement is palpable. Theatre aboard from City College to Hell’s Kitchen, music brings back the 60’s on the Upper Westside, with protest art in Chelsea; and while the Ailey company celebrates turning 60 in midtown, we have a group of over 60 “Sugar Babies” dancing in  Harlem. Here are a few of the many events happening in the city that never sleeps, guaranteed to keep you Out and About.

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