Like so many other arts disciplines until recent years, American ballet was presumed white until proven otherwise.
Those who bravely did so are heralded with long-overdue recognition in “The Swans of Harlem,” a new book by Karen Valby that reveals the courage and pioneering achievements of five Black ballerinas at the Dance Theater of Harlem, including founding member and present-day Ballethnic dance coach Lydia Abarca Mitchell.
Mitchell joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes and Valby to discuss the beauty of Black ballet and the dancers who cemented its legacy in New York and beyond.
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