Online Events & Classes Calendar

Register How and why was outdated racial content—and specifically blackface minstrelsy—not only permitted, but in fact allowed to thrive during the 1930s and 1940s despite the rigid motion picture censorship laws which were enforced during this time? In her new book Behind the Screen, published by Oxford University Press, Brynn Shiovitz introduces a new theory of covert minstrelsy, and illuminates Hollywood's practice of capitalizing on the Africanist aesthetic at the expense of Black lived exp…

This event is online only. 53rd Street Library is continuing our successful remote music series in collaboration with the Library for the Performing Arts. This disc discussion will focus on Disintegration by The Cure. We are offering a monthly music club (1PM & 5PM options) via Google Hangouts/Meetup selecting and focusing on a classic album with a distinct cultural impact. To give the club an intimate feel--Like a book club for music. An LP Club!--and for us to get to know one another a b…

This event is online only. 53rd Street Library is continuing our successful remote music series in collaboration with the Library for the Performing Arts. This disc discussion will focus on Disintegration by The Cure. We are offering a monthly music club (1PM & 5PM options) via Google Hangouts/Meetup selecting and focusing on a classic album with a distinct cultural impact. To give the club an intimate feel--Like a book club for music. An LP Club!--and for us to get to know one another a b…

Register Choreographer, educator, and curator Sekou McMiller, one of today’s most influential Afro Latin dance artists, takes a look at the Palladium Ballroom and its impact on the creation and proliferation of the Afro Latin dance the “Mambo” aka “Salsa on2.” Joined by elders from the Palladium Era, he revisits the famed ballroom which opened 1946–1966, known for its dancers as well as its music, fueled by weekly dance competitions and band battles. It was New York’s first integrated music…

Register Spanish dancer Carmen Dauset "Carmencita" arrived in New York in 1889 and quickly became a sensation in New York society. She was painted by both William Merritt Chase and John Singer Sargeant, and in 1894, she became the first woman and the first dancer to be filmed by Thomas Edison. By the early decades of the 20th century great Spanish and flamenco dancers were performing in the U.S., and some, such as the Cansinos and Aurora Arriaza, settled in the U.S. as teachers and performers.…

Register Premiering in 1987, Robert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker adopted elements of the classical 19th-century original by Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa and made it distinctly American, setting the narrative in an American household, complete with vintage toys from Joffrey’s own collection. For this month’s The Dance Historian Is In, former Joffrey Ballet dancer Nicole Duffy speaks about Joffrey’s take on the holiday classic The Nutcracker. Having danced in Robert Joffrey’s production for many year…

Register In this month’s Dance Historian Is In, Nancy Dalva explores Gus Solomons Jr.’s life in dance with photos and video from the Jerome Robbins Dance Division archive. Solomons began his training in modern dance and ballet while studying architecture at MIT. Upon graduating he moved to New York City to dance, including an early stint with Martha Graham’s company, which he left to dance for Merce Cunningham from 1965 to 1968. Cunningham left a lasting influence on Solomons’ life-long choreog…