8 Facts about Arthur Mitchell

Wednesday, April 1st 2015. | Arts

Facts about Arthur Mitchell talk about the African American choreographer and dancer. He was born on 27th March 1934. Dance Theater of Harlem was the first African American classical ballet company. It was founded by Mitchell. There are various kinds of honors and awards that Mitchell received. Let’s see his journey in the professional dancing world in the below explanation:

Facts about Arthur Mitchell 1: the awards

There were various awards that he took due to his wonderful skill and talent of dancing. His name was inducted in National Museum of Dance’s Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame. He was awarded with MacArthur Fellow, a Fletcher Foundation fellowship and the United States National Medal of Arts.

Facts about Arthur Mitchell 2: the early life

The early life of Mitchell was not good. He was raised by his family in the streets of Harlem, New York. He had to grow up and supported the family financially. The financial responsibility was given to Mitchell when he was only 12 years old. He had to do different kinds of jobs to support his family.

Arthur Mitchell Dancer

Facts about Arthur Mitchell 3: his odd jobs

There were several odd jobs that he did before he was famous. He had worked in a meat shop, delivered newspaper, mopped floor and shined shoes. He said that he involved in street gangs. However, Mitchell was smart and had good work ethic.

Facts about Arthur Mitchell 4: the talent

His talent did not stop him to pursue greater opportunity outside Harlem. He went to High School of Performing Arts and worked out in classical ballet. In the beginning of 1950s, he graduated from the school and won a dance award. It made him get a scholarship to study at School of American Ballet.

Arthur Mitchell Facts

Facts about Arthur Mitchell 5: performance

Mitchell performed along with Alvin Ailey, Pearl Bailey, and Geoffrey Holder at Musical House of Flowers in 1954. He had his first debut performing in Western Symphony in 1955. He was called as the first African American who could debut at NYCB or New York City Ballet.

Facts about Arthur Mitchell 6: the performance

In 1956, he became the principal dancer in the company. There is no need to wonder that he was appointed to perform in various major ballets such as Agon, The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Arcade. Get facts about African dance here.

Arthur Mitchell Dances

Facts about Arthur Mitchell 7: the dancer in NY City Ballet

As I have state before Mitchell was the first African American dancer in NYCB. But he also took the record as the only black dancer in the company until 1970.