Arthur Mitchell (1934-)
& the Dance Theatre of Harlem

Upon learning of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, Mr. Mitchell determined to do something to provide children in Harlem with the kinds of opportunities which he felt had been given to him. That same summer he began giving classes in a remodeled garage. In 1969, with financial assistance from the Ford Foundation, Mitchell and Karel Shook, his teacher and mentor, founded and saw the formal incorporation of Dance Theatre of Harlem both as a school of the allied arts and as a professional dance company. Having long since expanded its boundaries, Dance Theatre of Harlem has grown into a multicultural institution, comprised of student and dancers from the United States and around the world.

Click on your favorite player above to see a clip of The Dance Theatre of Harlem dancing to Gershwin's "Concerto in F"

As ridiculous as it now sounds to claim that the African-American body is not suited to ballet, as recently as the 1960s, it was widely believed that black dancers' physiques prevented them from achieving the classical line, and that their feet were too flat for a proper relevé. Arthur Mitchell irrevocably changed that perception. Through his dancing, his vision, his courage to fight the compromise of prejudice, he created the Dance Theater of Harlem, an institution that enriches and expands the world of ballet dancers and their audiences.

Arthur Mitchell is known around he world as an accomplished artistic director, educator, choreographer and dancer. He has been a pivotal figure in the dance world for over four decades. Mr. Mitchell began his dance training at New York City's High School of Performing Arts, where he was the first male student to win the coveted annual dance award. Upon graduation he was offered two scholarships: one to Bennington College, and one to the School of American Ballet. He accepted the latter. Mr. Mitchell made history as the first African-American male dancer to become a permanent member of a major ballet company when he joined the New York City Ballet in 1955, debuting in the Fourth Movement of "Western Symphony."

There is no physical discipline more rigorous than ballet, and Mitchell says he was ready "to do in dance what Jackie Robinson did in baseball." Parents of his white female classmates, however, weren't nearly as prepared to watch it. Many complained about Mitchell partnering their daughters in pas de deux. Some even objected to his presence in the classroom. The school ignored the protests, as did the company, when Mitchell joined. (Young white girls are the bread and butter of any ballet school, so why would the fledgling SAB risk its financial stability for one student? Here's my theory: Kirstein and Balanchine were dedicated to producing the ultimate American ballet company. Balanchine, raised in Russia, was well-known for his love of all things American, as witnessed in his ballets "Stars and Stripes," "Union Jack" and "Western Symphony." To him, Mitchell not only offered American-bred talent, he also represented a part of the American culture. Balanchine, an unrelenting genius, would not forsake his artistic vision for the benefit of bigotry.)

Nancy Hawley