Otis Sallid News

The multi-faceted Mr. Otis Sallid has signed on as associate director/producer on 5x platinum recording super star, Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas is You Christmas concert, at New York's Beacon Theatre, December 15, 16, 18, 20 and 21st.

Broadway dreams will come true for 47 young, aspiring performers when they take the stage to perform in The Broadway Dreams Foundation's 'Take It to the Limit' NYC Showcase at Queen of the Night at the Diamond Horseshoe (Paramount Hotel, 235 W 46th Street) on Monday, November 24, 2014 at 2:00 pm. Under the direction of acclaimed director/choreographer Otis Sallid (Smokey Joe's Cafe, Black Nativity), all 47 students will perform for the Broadway industry's top casting directors, agents, directors, and producers in the heart of New York City.

The Bessies, formally known as the New York Dance and Performance Awards, celebrated its 30th anniversary at the Apollo Theater on Monday, October 20th. It was an exciting evening that commemorated the diverse world of dance and those who tirelessly contribute to a field that makes this city come alive.

NEW YORK, September 30, 2014 - The New York Dance and Performance Awards (The Bessies), NYC's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, announced today the host of the anniversary ceremony that is to be held at the legendary Apollo Theater. Broadway playwright, actress and 1993 Bessie awardee Lisa Kron will host the 30th Annual Bessie Awards. Produced in partnership with Dance/NYC, the awards will take place October 20, 7:30 p.m. Nominees will arrive starting 6:00 p.m. for Red Carpet press interviews and photo opportunities.

Second Generation Productions (2g), a major incubator and producer of Asian American theater, announced today that Julian Cihi (Romeo and Juliet, Classic Stage Company) and Diane Phelan (Bernarda Alba, Lincoln Center) lead the cast of 2g's commissioned musical, Galois, by Sung Rno and Aaron Jones, directed by Victor Maog and produced by Jane Jung. The creative team also includes Music Director J. Oconer Navarro (The Adding Machine), Choreographer Camille A. Brown (tick, tick...BOOM!) and Fight Director Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum (Peter and the Starcatcher).

In the video below, 6 year old Angelica Hale wows the audience and teaching artists alike with her performance of 'Let It Go' from Frozen. The little dynamo nearly lost her life in 2012 when an infection ravaged her tiny body and forced her to get a kidney transplant. After the Atlanta concert, BDF connected her with an agent and she's already being considered for a few professional projects. Watch the powerhouse in action below!

The Broadway Dreams Foundation presented TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT: Defining EXTRA-Ordinary, a unique Broadway concert event, with performances by Broadway's brightest and Atlanta's rising stars at the Atlanta Lyric Theatre's Jennie T. Anderson Theater on Wednesday, June 18th at 7:30 pm. Directed by acclaimed Atlanta-based director and choreographer Otis Sallid (Black Nativity, Smokey Joe's Cafe), TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT was the culmination of a five-day BDF musical theatre intensive where students had the unique opportunity to work with the industry's top directors, choreographers, and writers on new material currently being developed for Broadway. The performance featured work and appearances by film and theatre choreographer Michele Lynch (The Last Five Years, Little Miss Sunshine), the award-winning writing team of Drew Fornarola and Marshall Pailet direct from DreamWorks, Titus Burgess (Tina Fey's "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," The Little Mermaid), Meg Gillentine (The Producers, Cats), Craig D'Amico (Fiddler on the Roof, Annie Get Your Gun), A.J. Lockhart (Bring It On: The Musical), and more. Check out photos from the special event below!

The Broadway Dreams Foundation (BDF) presents TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT: Defining EXTRA-Ordinary, a unique Broadway concert event, with performances by Broadway's brightest and Atlanta's rising stars. Directed by acclaimed Atlanta-based director and choreographer Otis Sallid (Black Nativity, Smokey Joe's Cafe?), TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT is the culmination of a five-day BDF musical theatre intensive where students have the unique opportunity to work with the industry's top directors, choreographers, and writers on new material currently being developed for Broadway.

The Broadway Dreams Foundation (BDF) presents TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT: Defining EXTRA-Ordinary, a unique Broadway concert event, with performances by Broadway's brightest and Atlanta's rising stars. Directed by acclaimed Atlanta-based director and choreographer Otis Sallid (Black Nativity, Smokey Joe's Cafe?), TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT is the culmination of a five-day BDF musical theatre intensive where students have the unique opportunity to work with the industry's top directors, choreographers, and writers on new material currently being developed for Broadway.

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club presents Otis Sallid's Big Otis Jump Up Blues Revue, for one night only tonight, May 29th at 9:30pm. The show features the music of Big Joe Turner, Julia Lee, Duke Ellington, Joe Liggins, La Vern Baker and Nellie Lutcher. It is steeped in the tradition of speakeasy shows that became popular during the rise of the Harlem Renaissance, performed in after-hours joints all across the Midwest and East Coast.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: ANTHEM opens off-Broadway tonight, the NYPL hosts a discussion in honor of the O'Neill Center's 50th anniversary, and the creator of SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE Otis Sallid boogies down at 54 Below!

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club presents Otis Sallid's Big Otis Jump Up Blues Revue, for one night only on Thursday, May 29th at 9:30pm. The show features the music of Big Joe Turner, Julia Lee, Duke Ellington, Joe Liggins, La Vern Baker and Nellie Lutcher. It is steeped in the tradition of speakeasy shows that became popular during the rise of the Harlem Renaissance, performed in after-hours joints all across the Midwest and East Coast.

Waterwell, one of the Village Voice's Best Arguments for Devised Theater and creators of GOODBAR and #9, announces the second year of its Summer Theater Lab, under the leadership of Victor Maog. The program has two sessions: Monday-Saturday, August 4-9, and August 11-16, 2014. For more information about classes and enrollment, visit www.waterwell.org/summer.

Amas Musical Theatre, New York City's award-winning pioneer in diversity and multi-ethnic casting in the performing arts since 1968, will celebrate its 45th Anniversary at a gala benefit on Monday, March 31st, 2014 at the Baruch Performing Arts Center (East 25th Street between Lexington and 3rd Avenues). Honorary Chair for the event is veteran Broadway virtuoso Maurice Hines.

The Apollo Theater's presentation of James Brown: Get on the Good Foot, a Celebration in Dance on Friday October 25, 2013 was an astounding array of funk and fine art, with a familiar bass line that riveted throughout the souls of the audience. The show included tap dancing, breakdancing, modern dance, fine lines, bright colors, afros, funky gyrations and, at moments, sacred translations.

'Give the people what they came for' James Brown said in reference to his shows, and it seemed that the Apollo set out to do just that on the opening night of 'James Brown - Get on the Good Goot' dance celebration concert in Harlem.

Fresh off work on Fox Searchlight's feature film BLACK NATIVITY starring Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker and Mary J. Blige - and directed by Kasi Lemmons - Otis Sallid, the creator of SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE, brings an exciting new musical project to life, HARLEM'S BIG OTIS JUMP UP BLUES REVUE. The REVUE will make it's home at Ginny's Supper Club located in Marcus Samuelsson's popular Red Rooster Harlem, (310 Lenox Avenue). Performances are scheduled every Thursday night, two shows - 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., tonight, August 15 and August 22, 29, 2013.

For an authentic taste of the Harlem soulful music scene, tourists and locals alike should visit 'Big Otis Jump Up Blues Revue' on Thursday nights at 7:30 p.m. throughout the month of August, with the first show taking place tonight, August 8th, at Ginny's Supper Club.

Waterwell will provide a sneak preview of Otis Sallid and AaRon Jones' new musical, Hamelin, as the culmination of its inaugural Summer Theater Lab today, August 3 at 5pm at The Ailey Studios, 405 W 55th Street.

The cast and creative team of the world premiere musical HAMELIN, part of the Waterwell Summer Theater Lab, met the press today, August 2, and performed never-before-seen songs from the show! In attendance were Hamelin director/choreographer Otis Sallid, composer Aaron Jones, Waterwell Summer Theater Lab master class artist Lin-Manuel Miranda, director Victor Maog, and Waterwell artistic director Tom Ridgely. Scroll down for photos from the event!