6/16/17 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Dudley Williams last Performance- Dance Of The Village Elders

By Walter Rutledge

Dudley Williams was a performing artist, and teacher and a friend. I often referred to him as the “Lyric Prince of Modern Dance” a moniker that he enjoyed. In reality Dudley was a fighter. And the bantamweight dancer was in a battle with time, he simply refused to let it stop him from dancing. Continue reading

6/27/16 O&A NYC DANCE: Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center’s Final Performance Tuesday June 28

By Walter Rutledge

"Bewildered", Adryan Moorefield, Courtney Robinson, Janine Beckles, PHILADANCO, Rosita Adamo, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Victor Lewis Jr.

The 40th Anniversary season of the Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center will conclude on Tuesday June 28 with a special by Philadanco and Marshall Swiney. Continue reading

6/3/15 O&A: A Conversation With Dudley Williams- Three Black Kings and more (2011)

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Three Black Kings was the last dance and music collaboration between choreographer Alvin Ailey and composer/musician Duke Ellington. The work premiered during the 1976 Ailey season with a cast that included Elbert Watson as King Balthazar, Clive Thompson as King Solomon and Dudley Williams as Martin Luther King Jr. King was a close friend of Ellington and his widow Coretta Scott King attended the première. In this 2011 interview Dudley discusses his role and Ailey’s choreographic process. Continue reading

1/19/15 O&A Martin Luther King, Jr. on Income Inequality and Redistribution of Wealth + James Baldwin

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Excerpts from Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches dealing with income inequality and wealth redistribution. In a time when these very issues are at the levels of the 1930’s his words still ring with a clarity and truth. Plus an excerpt from an interview with James Baldwin who poses a chilling question for America.  Continue reading

8/24/14- O&A Gospel Sunday: Mahalia Jackson- The Queen Of Gospel

GOSPEL SUNDAY

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Mahalia Jackson, The Queen of Gospel, became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world. She became an internationally acclaimed singer and civil rights activist. Entertainer Harry Belafonte described Jackson as “the single most powerful black woman in the United States”. She recorded about 30 albums.  Continue reading