Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History
Starred review from January 15, 2024
Vanity Fair contributor Valby (Welcome to Utopia) paints a vibrant portrait of the “first permanent Black professional ballet company” in the U.S and the five trailblazing dancers who put it on the map. Originated in 1968 by George Balanchine protégé Arthur Mitchell, the Dance Theatre of Harlem featured “founding” ballerinas Lydia Abarca, Mitchell’s “prized” dancer who later landed on the covers of Essence and Dance magazines; Sheila Rohan, who performed while running a household and raising three children; Juillard-trained Gayle McKinney-Grffith, who served as the company’s “ballet mistress” and later taught choreography for the 1978 film The Wiz; Marcia Sells, who joined the company at just 16; and Karlya Shelton, who stepped in with little notice to star in the 1978 production of Serenade. The company shattered artistic boundaries even as it strained under financial pressures, the whims of the brilliant yet tyrannical Mitchell, and an old guard media that favored more renowned—and more white—troupes. Valby meticulously untangles the prejudices woven into the dance world and analyzes the politics of establishing a Black ballet company amid a period of backlash to the civil rights movement (“Let the gorgeous lines of his dancers’ bodies serve as fists in the air,” she writes of Mitchell’s mission). In the process, Valby successfully counters the perception that Misty Copeland was the “first” Black American ballerina. The result is a captivating corrective to an often-whitewashed history. Agent: Barbara Jones, Stuart Krichevsky Literary.
September 1, 2024
Journalist Valby (Welcome to Utopia) reveals the little-known story of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, its domineering but brilliant creator, Arthur Mitchell, and five of its most prominent ballerinas. Valby shares the stories of the troupe's three founding members--prima ballerina Lydia Abarca; Sheila Rohan, a mother of three; and Gayle McKinney-Griffith, a Juilliard-trained ballerina--along with Marcia Sells and Karlya Shelton, who moved across the country to join the group. Through their resilience and determination in the face of racism, injustice, and societal pressures, these women left an indelible mark on the world of ballet. Narrator January LaVoy performs the bulk of the narrative, introducing the dancers at the barre and describing their journeys as they took flight. LaVoy's careful, elegant speech captures the dancers' struggles while keeping the interwoven stories clear and concise. The credits include the dancers themselves as they recall their stories after leaving the company. During the COVID shutdowns, the former dancers joined together to become the legacy council of the 152nd Street Black Ballet Legacy, preserving their stories for future generations. VERDICT Valby's groundbreaking narrative is a heartening and heartfelt account of women who strove for and achieved art at the highest level.--Laura Trombley
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