The Swans of Harlem
Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History
New York : Pantheon Books, [2024]
Format: Book
Edition: First edition.
Description: 292 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
"The forgotten story of a pioneering group of five Black ballerinas, the first principals in the Dance Theatre of Harlem, who traveled the world as highly celebrated stars in their field and whose legacy was erased from history until now. At the height of the Civil Rights movement, Lydia Abarça was a Black prima ballerina with a major international dance company-the Dance Theatre of Harlem. She was the first Black ballerina on the cover of Dance magazine, an Essence cover star, cast in The Wiz and on Broadway with Bob Fosse. She performed in some of ballet's most iconic works with her closest friends-founding members of the company, the Swans of Harlem, Gayle McKinney, Sheila Rohan, Marcia Sells, and Karlya Shelton-for the Queen of England and Mick Jagger, with Josephine Baker, at the White House, and beyond. Some forty years later, when Lydia's granddaughter wanted to show her own ballet class evidence of her grandmother's success, she found almost none, but for some yellowing photographs and programs in the family basement. Lydia had struggled for years to reckon with the erasure of her success, as all the Swans had. Still united as sisters in the present, they decided it was time to share their story themselves. Captivating, rich in vivid detail and character, and steeped in the glamor and grit of professional ballet, The Swans of Harlem is a riveting account of five extraordinarily accomplished women, a celebration of their historic careers, and a window into the robust history of Black ballet, hidden for too long"-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects:
Abarca, Lydia.
McKinney, Gayle.
Rohan, Sheila.
Sells, Marcia Lynn.
Shelton, Karlya.
Dance Theatre of Harlem -- History.
African American ballerinas -- Biography.
Ballet -- United States -- History.
Abarca, Lydia.
McKinney, Gayle.
Rohan, Sheila.
Sells, Marcia Lynn.
Shelton, Karlya.
Dance Theatre of Harlem -- History.
African American ballerinas -- Biography.
Ballet -- United States -- History.
ISBN:
9780593317525
Availability | |||
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Call Number | Location | Shelf Location | Status |
PERFORMING ARTS Val | Main (Downtown) | Display - First Level, Nonfiction | In |
PERFORMING ARTS Val | Main (Downtown) | New - First Level, Nonfiction | In |
PERFORMING ARTS Val | Blythewood | New, Nonfiction | Out (Due: 6/11/2024) |
PERFORMING ARTS Val | Cooper (Forest Acres) | New, Nonfiction | In |
PERFORMING ARTS Val | Edgewood | New, Nonfiction | In |
PERFORMING ARTS Val | North Main | New, Nonfiction | In |
PERFORMING ARTS Val | Southeast | New, Nonfiction | In |
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Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-271) and index.