Ballet trailblazer
Mitchell, one of 1st blacks to enter profession, dies
Arthur Mitchell, one of the first and most popular black ballet dancers, died Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 84. Mitchell has long been credited with leading the way for minority dancers, even going as far as to call himself the Jackie Robinson of ballet.
Mitchell’s niece, Juli Mills-Ross, told The New York Times that he died of complications due to heart failure.
The Harlem native made his debut with the New York City Ballet in 1955 as one of the company’s first black dancers.
Within a year, he was made a principal dancer and led performances including “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Agon” and “The Nutcracker.” Between seasons, he took to Broadway in shows like “Four Saints in Three Acts” and “House of Flowers.”
Internationally, some of Mitchell’s most celebrated performances were held in the Soviet Union and Paris.
In 1969, moved by the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. to help young people in his community, Mitchell left the ballet and founded the Dance Theatre of Harlem alongside his mentor, Karel Shook. The school began with 30 students in a church basement and grew to 400 within two months.
“When Dance Theatre of Harlem started, there was still a fallacy that black people could not do classical ballet,” Mitchell told the Toronto Star in 1995. “People said to me, ‘Arthur, you’re the exception.’ ‘No,’ I said, ‘I had the opportunity.’ ”
The school shut down performances in 2004 amid massive debt, but reopened in 2012.
“It’s with the deepest sadness we share the news that our founding artistic director, the great Arthur Mitchell, has passed away,” the school said in a statement on Twitter.
“His legacy of passion, power and perfection will live on through each and every person he’s touched in his lifetime. We love you and we honor you!”
Mitchell received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1993, as well as a 1994 MacArthur Foundation fellowship and a 1995 National Medal of Arts.
“Rest in peace Arthur Mitchell,” the New York City Ballet said in a statement. “Your incredible artistry and trailblazing spirit will be forever felt.”