Everything She Wants

Attending a performance of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is always a highlight of my arts and culture calendar. An engagement with this awe-inspiring and genre-bending dance company is even better when they perform close to home at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.                                                                                                                                         Photo: Danica Paulos Ailey’s long-standing relationship with BAM began in 1969 when the trailblazing choreographer established The Ailey School in Brooklyn and presented his company’s...

Watching the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater makes me proud to be a Black woman. This ballet company is graced by dancers of color who can tackle any technique or dance style. But whether the choreography is rooted in jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop or ballet, they do it the Ailey way, which means they move with so much culturally rooted soulfulness and swag that I find myself marveling at their languid form and fierce footwork. In my lifetime, I've seen the Ailey company perform at least a dozen times and each time I picked a performance that included Mr. Ailey's beloved "Revelations." I will never grow tired of witnessing this jubilant homage to the Black Southern Baptist church. By the end I'm always standing, singing and clapping along with the rest of the audience's Amen chorus. Yes, rock a my soul in the bosom of Abraham ! Like most theatrical events and performing arts programs, this is Ailey's comeback season after going dark in 2020 due to...

You know when  Inside the Actors Studio host James Lipton asks actors what profession other than their own would they like to attempt?  Well, if I hadn't pursued writing as a career, I would have studied dance.  Dance pro Karina Smirnoff I think dance is the purest form of artistic expression. And it's great that TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance  and Dancing with the Stars  have put a spotlight on dance and made it so popular. At a recent JCPenney New Year, New You fitness event I had the chance of a lifetime to take an exclusive dance class led by DWTS-pro Karina Smirnoff.   During the energetic dance-cardio class, Karina and participants were dressed in the newest styles from  JCPenney's  Xersion  and  City Streets  Activewear lines. We were also gifted JCPenney's  Bella High Power Juice Extractor  and  Magic Bullet Blender . "I'm excited to partner with JCPenney to showcase ways to f...

If you've read Everything She Wants before, you know I'm a Zumba fanatic.  So I was thrilled to get a sneak peek at the Zumba Fitness video game (that's me in the screen shot with a certified Zumba instructor).  Just in time for Black Friday, the game goes on sale Nov. 18. Me (center) with fellow bloggers and Zumba instructors. Zumba Fitness is perfect for all skill levels and is available for Nintendo Wii, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms.  It's like bringing a high-energy Zumba dance party into your living room.  Watch my You Tube video at the top of this post for a demo.  I can't wait to get a copy (available for pre-sale ) and introduce Zumba to my family over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. To promote breast cancer awareness, Zumba is also sponsoring Party in Pink Zumbathon charity events across the nation. All proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure. So pick out some cute Zumba Wear  and find a   Zumbatho...

I'm not usually a gym girl. But thanks to the dynamic dance-aerobics-fest that is Zumba , I'm a proud, card carrying member of my local  YMCA . Led by uber-perky instructor Alma Bonilla , each 60-minute Zumba class feels more like a Latin dance party than a calorie-crunching cardio workout. Salsa , merengue, and Samba steps intertwine with the grapevine, Tae Bo jabs, and hip-hop moves. Super Alma teaches four frenetic Zumba classes a week at the Atlantic Avenue Y (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday). Everything She Wants Tip : If you're in the area, you can try Zumba for free every Sunday through August 22 from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Bridge Park .