Arthur Mitchell
American ballet dancer and choreographer
Who was Arthur Mitchell?
Arthur Mitchell (March 27, 1934 – September 19, 2018) was an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and founder and director of ballet companies. In 1969, he founded a training school and the first African-American classical ballet company, Dance Theatre of Harlem. Mitchell was one of four siblings, the son of a building superintendent, and grew up in the streets of Harlem, New York. Forced at the age of 12 to assume financial responsibility for his family in the wake of his father's incarceration, Mitchell worked numerous jobs, including shoe-shining, mopping floors, newspaper delivery, and work in a meat shop. He then founded ballet companies in Spoleto, Washington, D.C., and Brazil.
Historical significance
In 1955, he was the first African-American dancer with the New York City Ballet, where he was promoted to principal dancer the following year and danced in major roles until 1966. Among other awards, Mitchell was recognized as a MacArthur Fellow, inducted into the National Museum of Dance's Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame, and received the United States National Medal of Arts and a Fletcher Foundation fellowship.