Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served as the company's music director from 1981 to 1992. The artistic director has been Robert Garland since 2022. The DTH is renowned for being both "the first Black classical ballet company", and "the first major ballet company to prioritize Black dancers".
The Boston Ballet is an American professional classical ballet company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and Sydney Leonard, and was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. It has been led by Violette Verdy (1980–1984), Bruce Marks (1985–1997), and Anna-Marie Holmes (1997–2000). Mikko Nissinen has been Artistic Director of Boston Ballet since 2001. Nissinen leads the company in partnership with Executive Director Ming Min Hui.
Dance Magazine is an American trade publication for dance. It was first published in June 1927 as The American Dancer. Dance Magazine is currently part of Dance Media, led by longtime arts publisher Joanna Harp as president, and has multiple sister publications, including Pointe, Dance Spirit, Dance Teacher, The Dance Edit. Dance Magazine was owned by Macfadden Communications Group from 2001 to 2016 when it was sold to Frederic M. Seegal, an investment banker with the Peter J. Solomon Company. In 2023, Dance Magazine was acquired by Hollywood.com.
Robert Garland is the artistic director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, where he was a principal dancer and their first official resident choreographer. He has also choreographed for the New York City Ballet, The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and the Oakland Ballet, among many others.
Misty Danielle Copeland is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African American woman to be promoted to a principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history.
Sarah Lane is an American ballet dancer who was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT). She served as a "dance double" for Natalie Portman in the 2010 film Black Swan.
Michaela Mabinty DePrince was a Sierra Leonean–American ballet dancer who danced with the Boston Ballet, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, and the Dutch National Ballet.
Joy Annabelle Womack is an American ballet dancer. She is the first American woman to graduate from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy’s main training program with a red diploma, and the second American woman to sign a contract with the Bolshoi Ballet. She was a principal dancer with the Universal Ballet and Kremlin Ballet, Astrakhan Opera and Ballet Theatre and got a fixed-term contract with Paris Opera Ballet in January 2023.
The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre is the associate school of American Ballet Theatre located at 890 Broadway, within the Flatiron District of Manhattan, New York City. The school comprises a children's division for ages 4 to 12, a pre-professional division for ages 12 to 18, and the preparatory program "Studio Company" for ages 16 to 20. It was established in 2004 and named in honor of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis who served on ABT's Board of Trustees as honorary chairman emerita for many years prior to her death. Besides its parent company, graduates of JKO have found employment in various companies, such as National Ballet of Canada, The Royal Ballet, Joffrey Ballet and Dutch National Ballet. Stella Abrera became the school's interim artistic director for a year, starting in August 2022, following Cynthia Harvey's departure in May.
Aminah L. Ahmad, formerly known professionally as Llanchie Stevenson, is an American ballet dancer who was the first African-American dancer at Radio City Music Hall Ballet Company, the first African-American female dancer at the National Ballet of Washington, and an original company member and former principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem. She retired from dancing upon her conversion to Islam.
Chyrstyn Mariah Fentroy is an American ballet dancer. She currently dances as a principal with the Boston Ballet and is a former principal dancer at Dance Theatre of Harlem. When Fentroy joined Boston Ballet in 2017, she was the first African-American female dancer to join the company in a decade.
Virginia Johnson is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and journalist. She retired in 2023 as the artistic director of Dance Theatre of Harlem, having been a founding member and principal dancer of the company. From 2000 to 2009 she was the editor-in-chief of Pointe. She is also a good cook.
Melanie Person is an American dancer, choreographer, and educator who began her career at 14 as a "baby ballerina" with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. She is currently the co-director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Ailey School, with Tracy Inman.
Alicia Graf Mack is an American dancer, teacher, and artistic director. She was a member of Dance Theatre of Harlem and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and has performed with Beyonce, John Legend, and Alicia Keys. Mack has taught dance at Washington University in St. Louis, Webster University, and University of Houston. In 2018, she was named the first Black Dean and Director of the Dance Division at Juilliard School, the youngest person to hold that role. During her Julliard tenure, she has been credited with "remaking Juilliard Dance." In November 2024, it was announced that Mack will leave Julliard in 2025 to become artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Ingrid Silva is a Brazilian ballet dancer who currently performs with the Dance Theatre of Harlem in New York City.
Thomas Forster is an English ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre.
Linda Stoner Winslett is an American former ballet dancer and the founding artistic director of the Richmond Ballet. In 2014, she was honored by the Virginia Women in History project of the University of Virginia for her contributions to the community.
Julie Diana Hench is an American ballet dancer, teacher, writer and arts administrator. She joined the San Francisco Ballet in 1993, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2000. In 2004, she joined the Pennsylvania Ballet, where she remained until her retirement from performing in 2014, though she remained in the company for another year as a ballet master. In 2015, she became the executive director at Juneau Dance Theatre. In 2017, she was named executive director of the American Repertory Ballet and Princeton Ballet School. She has written for various dance publications.
Carole Yvonne Johnson is an African American contemporary dancer and choreographer, known for her role in the establishment of the National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA), and as co-founder of Bangarra Dance Theatre in Australia. Early in her career she became a lead dancer in the Eleo Pomare Dance Company, and Pomare had a profound influence on her dancing style.
