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Arthur Mitchell, pioneering black ballet dancer, dies

NEW YORK — Arthur Mitchell, who broke barriers for African-Ameri­cans in the 1950s as a ballet dancer with the New York City Ballet and who went on to become a driv­ing force in the creation of the Dance Theatre of Har­lem, died Wed­­nesday at 84.

Born in Harlem, Mitchell started dancing with the New York City Ballet in 1955 under famed choreographer George Balanchine.

Balanchine put him in several leading roles, including one that paired him with white female dancer Diana Adams in “Agon” in 1957.

In 1968, impacted by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Mitchell started a dance school that grew the next year to include the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Anna Glass, the executive director of the Dance Theater, said that Mitchell “truly was a visionary.”

“He believed in a world where all people could have access to this beautiful art form,” she said. “He really sought to ensure that all people saw themselves in” ballet.

Among those recognizing his impact after his death was Misty Copeland, the first African-American female principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre.

In a post on Instagram, she wrote, “You gave me so much, through our conversations, your dancing and by simply existing as a brown body in ballet. But you were so much more than a brown body. You’re an icon and hero.”

Mitchell was born in 1934 and grew up with four siblings. He began formal dance training in high school and, upon graduating, took the offer of a ballet scholarship with the School of American Ballet.

His dancing years also included choreographing his own works, performing on Broadway and working with international dance companies. The Dance Theatre of Harlem performed internationally and has been artistically acclaimed even through periods of financial upheaval.

Glass said Mitchell had most recently spent time at the company last month, during a two-week residency in which he restaged one of his older ballets to be performed next April as the com­pany marks its 50th anniversary.

“This was a moment that all of us were looking forward to,” Glass said. “I know we will miss him tremendously.”

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