The Dance Theatre of Harlem at Wagner Noel

Forty-eight years ago, Arthur Mitchell and his mentor Karel Shook founded Dance Theatre of Harlem as a beacon of hope for the youth in the underprivileged neighborhood where Mitchell grew up. An acclaimed principal dancer with George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet, Mitchell took the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a call to action. Drawing on his expertise and his prominence as the first African American to be a permanent member of a major U.S. ballet company, Mitchell’s ground-breaking idea was to transform the lives of young people in Harlem by providing training in classical ballet. In a few short years his response to tragedy became a leading dance institution of unparalleled global acclaim.

Now, the organization’s three-part mission is served through the Dance Theatre of Harlem Company which tours nationally and internationally with an eclectic ballet repertoire; the Dance Theatre of Harlem School, which trains more than 500 students per year in ballet and other dance disciplines during winter and summer sessions; and Dancing Through Barriers, an arts education and community engagement program that uses the arts to inspire and transform lives. Through these activities Dance Theatre of Harlem has reached millions and is dedicated to reaching new audiences with a powerful message of self-reliance, artistic relevance and individual responsibility, all hallmarks of an organization that plays a key role in the national cultural dialogue.