3/18/16 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Paul Taylor- Promethean Fire (Toccata & Fugue)

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Promethean Fire (2002) danced to the music of three of Leopold Stokowski’s famous Bach transcriptions (Opus 116). The ensemble work is one of Paul Taylor’s six ballets set to the music of the baroque master. This excerpt is the first movement choreographed to the celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D minor.   Continue reading

1/29/16 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Step Into My Dream Featuring Billy Taylor/David Parsons, Jazz/Dance Part 7

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Part 7 of Step Into My Dream, a unique Jazz / Dance collaboration by Billy Taylor and David Parsons, featuring Dr. Billy Taylor on piano, Chip Jackson on bass, Steve Johns on drums, and the David Parsons Dance Company. Recorded in 1994. Continue reading

7/24/15 0&A Shall We Dance Friday: Bessie Schönberg- How to Look at Dance

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Bessie Schönberg (1906-1997) a distinguished and beloved educator in the dance arts,  speaks to a class of interns at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in the summer of 1989. She discusses the art and technique of how one can watch dance as an audience member. Schönberg offers insight into how one can prepare oneself to view new dance, find an entry point or “handle-bar” into the content, and how to build an appetite for the multitude of dance forms. Continue reading

(REPOST) 2/6/15 SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Appalachian Spring- Celebrating the 90 Anniversary of the Martha Graham Dance Company

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To celebrate the 90th Anniversary Season of the Martha Graham Dance Company April 14th, 15th, 16th and 18th at New York City Center O&A NYC Magazine reposts Martha Graham’s Appalachian Spring.

Appalachian Spring premiered on October 30th, 1944, at the Library of Congress, Coolidge Auditorium in Washington DC, with Martha Graham dancing the lead role. Created during the darkest days of War World II Graham wanted to create inspiring art that came out of the American experience.  Graham spoke of the work, “To be great art… it must belong to the country in which it flourishes, not be a pale copy of some art form perfected by another culture and another people”. Continue reading

Paul Taylor Dance Company begins 60th Anniversary Season Tonight

By Walter Rutledge

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The Paul Taylor Dance Company begins their New York season today at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. The season marks the 60th anniversary of the company and the third consecutive season at Lincoln Center. During the three-week engagement, Tuesday, March 11 through Sunday, March 30, the company will present 22 works that span Founder/Artistic Director Paul Taylor’s seven decades of dance making. Continue reading