DTH NEWS
For Immediate Release
April 13- 2009
Donna Walker-Kuhne
dwkuhne@gmail.com \
718-703-2260 \
718-757-6206
DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM
FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR,
ARTHUR MITCHELL
TO RETIRE DURING
DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM’S
40TH ANNIVERSARY – SUCCESSOR NAMED.
New York, NY. April 13, 2009 - The Dance Theatre of Harlem Board of Directors announced today that after 40 years at the helm of the company he founded, Artistic Director Arthur Mitchell will retire during this 40th anniversary year and has selected former Prima Ballerina Virginia Johnson as his successor. "Virginia is the ideal person to ensure the artistic legacy of DTH when I step down," said Arthur Mitchell.
Arthur Mitchell was the first African-American male to become a permanent member of a major ballet company when he joined the New York City Ballet in 1955. During his fifteen-year career with the New York City Ballet, Mitchell rose quickly to the rank of Principal Dancer. Mitchell is best known for his role in the pas de deux from Agon and as the lighthearted "Puck" in A Midsummer Night's Dream, both roles were choreographed especially for him by George Balanchine.
Shortly after the assassination of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Arthur Mitchell was inspired to start a ballet school that would offer African American and Latino children — especially those in Harlem, the community in which he was born — the opportunity to study dance and the allied arts. In 1969, a year later, Mitchell and Karel Shook, founded DTH which the New York Times called “one of ballet’s most exciting undertakings”. Now in its fourth decade, DTH has grown into a dance institution and national treasure. Armed with an extraordinary legacy of training exceptional artists, DTH continues to set the standard for artistic excellence in the performing arts.
Among Arthur Mitchell’s many accomplishments are the Kennedy Center Honors, The National Medal of the Arts, The McArthur Foundation “Genius” Fellowship and the Alphonse Fletcher Sr. Fellowship.
“Arthur forever changed the world. We are profoundly grateful for everything he has done in service of the arts. The Board is committed to preserving and building on the legacy he has created at Dance Theatre of Harlem,” said Nancy Aronson, Chairperson of Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Board of Directors.
Ms. Johnson, DTH’s former Prima Ballerina, joined the company in 1969 and was personally selected by Arthur Mitchell to succeed him as Artistic Director. Following Ms. Johnson’s retirement from the stage in 1997, she pursued her interest in journalism, obtaining a degree in communications from Fordham University and is founding Editor-in-Chief of Pointe Magazine. She is known for her leading roles in ballets like DTH’s Creole Giselle, A Street Car Named Desire and Fall River Legend and has been hailed as one of the world’s greatest dramatic dancers. Among Ms. Johnson’s other credits is her inclusion in two acclaimed television dance series, Margot Fonteyn’s “The Magic of Dance” and Natalia Makarova’s “Ballerina.”
"I am honored that Arthur Mitchell has selected me as his successor and am looking forward to
continuing his legacy," Ms. Johnson commented. “Virginia’s artistic prowess and experience will be an
invaluable asset to DTH,” said DTH Executive Director, Laveen Naidu.
The Dance Theatre of Harlem School serves over 500 students most of whom receive scholarships or tuition aid. The organization recently launched a nine state national tour by the newly named Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble and a model K-12 arts education curriculum in New York City Public Schools.
Exhibit Press and Articles
Dance Theatre of Harlem is celebrating it's 40th Anniversary!
Interview With Arthur Mitchell and Prima Ballerina Virginia Johnson
Tom Joyner features Dance Theatre of Harlem during his "Little Known Black History Facts" segment on his Morning Show (sponsored by McDonalds)