Shall We Dance Friday: John Bubbles- Cabin In The Sky

 Shall We Dance

hqdefault

Cabin in the Sky is a 1940 American musical with music by Vernon Duke, Lyrics by John La Touche, and a musical book by Lynn Root. The musical premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 25, 1940. It closed on March 8, 1941 after a total of 156 performances. It was directed by Albert Lewis and staged by George Balanchine. The Broadway production starred Ethel Waters as Petunia Jackson, Dooley Wilson as Little Joe Jackson, Katherine Dunham as Georgia Brown, Rex Ingram as Lucifer Junior, and Todd Duncan as The Lawd’s General. Continue reading

9/1/17 (REPOST) O&A NYC Shall We Dance Friday: Jennifer Gelfand in Vortex Section from Alvin Ailey’s The River

 Shall We Dance

Jennifer Gelfand performs the Vortex section of Alvin Ailey’s The River. Originally set on American Ballet Theatre in 1970 the work was performed by Gelfand during a tour entitled  Vortex section of Alvin Ailey’s The RiverFernando Bujones and Stars of the Boston Ballet in 1993. The work was set to music by Duke Ellington.  Continue reading

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

Shall We Dance

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

Shall We Dance Friday: David Parsons- Caught

Shall We Dance

1004_10_07

David Parsons’ stroboscopic masterpiece, Caught, features more than 100 leaps in six minutes by a solo dancer who is repeatedly trapped in mid-motion by the strobe lights, to create an illusion of flight.  After thousands of performances, worldwide, for nearly thirty years, Caught continues to thrill audiences at every performance. Continue reading

Shall We Dance Friday: The Dying Swan by Lil Buck and Yo-Yo Ma

Shall We Dance

AJ-Buck_photo-by-Erinn-Baiano

Charles “Lil Buck” Riley (born May 25, 1988) is a Los Angeles-based dancer and occasional model from Memphis, Tennessee who specializes in a style of street dance called Memphis jookin’. He gained popularity after director Spike Jonze  used his cell phone to record an interpretive performance of  The Dying Swan by Lil Buck and Yo-Yo Ma.  Continue reading

Shall We Dance Friday: The Nicholas Brothers in “Jumpin Jive” from Stormy Weather

the-nicholas-brothers-1

The Nicholas Brothers were a famous African- American team of dancing brothers, Fayard (1914–2006) and Harold (1921–2000). With their highly acrobatic technique (flash dance), high level of artistry and daring innovations, they were considered by many the greatest tap dancers of their day. Continue reading

Shall We Dance Friday: Dudley Williams- I Wanna Be Ready (1986)

Shall We Dance

dudleywilliams

In a long, brilliant career, Dudley Williams worked with such artists as Martha Graham, Talley Beatty, and Donald McKayle. Most significantly, he was a member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for more than forty years. Although Williams retired from that company in 2005, some months before his 67th birthday, he still teaches at the Ailey School. He also makes guest appearances as a teacher at the Martha Graham School. “[Dudley Williams is] amazing—an inspiration to everybody, a real poet with movement.” –Alvin Ailey from Revelations: The Autobiography of Alvin Ailey.

Continue reading