Arthur Mitchell, Dance Legend, R.I.P.
September 24, 2018 1:12 PM   Subscribe

Arthur Mitchell co-founded the Dance Theater of Harlem, a world-renowned company. A star of New York City Ballet and the co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, Arthur Mitchell was also the first African American principal dancer in any major ballet company. Mitchell, who has died aged 84, had classical lines, buoyant energy and a palpable joy in movement. In NYCB, where he danced from 1955 to 1968, he gained renown for two roles he created: the startlingly modernist Agon pas de deux, choreographed for him and Diana Adams by George Balanchine, and the mischievously bounding Puck in Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. According to his fellow NYCB dancer Jacques d’Amboise, “every time we toured Europe, he was a sensation … There would be hundreds of fans at the stage door.”

Here's another obituary that offers some other data and dance videos: Mitchell RIP at GBN
posted by MovableBookLady (11 comments total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
Mitchell & Patricia Neary in In the Inn, to music by Charles Ives. I don't especially like the piece but he shows some lovely technique.
posted by JanetLand at 1:29 PM on September 24, 2018


Just watch (Agon partnering Ms Kent)
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posted by filtergik at 4:02 AM on September 25, 2018


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