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 DTH is renowned for being both "the first Black classical ballet company", and "the first major ballet company to prioritize Black dancers". Arthur Mitchell, the first African-American principal dancer in a major ballet company (New York City Ballet), was sent to Brazil by the United States government to start up the National Ballet of Brazil. While on his way to the airport, he was shocked to hear news of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. In conjunction with the civil rights movement, King's death inspired Mitchell to forgo his plans in Brazil. Instead, he would found a classical ballet school for the children of Harlem, the poor and predominantly black New York neighborhood where he was raised. Karel Shook, the first ballet teacher and a former ballet master at Dutch National Ballet, agreed to later partner with him. At the time, Shook was the best and only teacher of European descent willing to train African Americans in classical technique. More information...
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