User:Tnrascoe/List of African American Ballet dancers

This is List of African American Ballet Dancers.This list includes ,as well those who were born in the United States, or of just African Descent who later emigrated to the United States. Theses dancers are professional ballet dancers who have contributed significantly to ballet and or have achieved great success as ballet dancers in the United States.

Alphabetical list

A

Portrait	Details	Stage Image
	Aesha Ash is currently a member of Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet, a San Francisco company. She was in the corps of New York City Ballet but left in 2003; since then the company has had no African-American women.

C

Portrait	Details	Stage Image
	Misty Copeland in 2007 became the 3rd African-American female soloist for the American Ballet Theatre. Misty is the 1st African –American Ballerina in 20 years at ABT. She was born in Kansas City, Missouri and later grew up in San Pedro, California. She started dancing at 13 years of age which is very late for a ballet dancer.	File:Misty Copeland and Matthew Prescott in Robert Garland's "M and M Variations".jpg
	Heidi Cruz was born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Heidi began her dance training at Dolly Haltzman Dance Academy . She went on to study at the School of American Ballet and The Pennsylvania Ballet. Heidi Cruz has also performed throughout the United States and Europe.

D

Portrait	Details	Stage Image
	Michaela De Prince was born in Sierra Leone, a small West African country that was ravaged by civil war between 1991 and 2002. When her parents died she was placed in an orphanage at 3 years old. She was later adopted and moved to the US when she was 4. In 2010, Michaela landed a coveted spot in ABT's pre-professional division. She currently dances with The Dance Theatre of Harlem.	http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michaela_DePrince_for_Teen_Vogue.ogv

G

Portrait	Details	Stage Image
	Robert Garland was a principal dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Robert is now DTH’s Resident Choreographer. He has created works for the Dance Theatre of Harlem Company, and their School Ensemble. He has also choreographed for New York City Ballet, The Royal Ballet, and Oakland Ballet, among many others.

K

Portrait	Details	Stage Image
	Nora Koito Kimball-Mentzos or simply Nora Kimball, the ballet teacher and former American ballerina. She is officially the first African American female soloist for the American Ballet Theatre (ABT).

M

Portrait	Details	Stage Image
	Arthur Mitchell could be considered the “Jackie Robinson” of ballet. In 1955 Arthur Mitchell, an African-American ballet dancer was selected by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein, to join the New York City Ballet. Through roles choreographed by Balanchine specifically for Mitchell, such as the pas de deux in Agon and the role of Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, he perfected his craft to become a principal dancer with NYCB for 15 years. One of next greatest acheivements was founding The Dance Theatre of Harlem. Dance Theatre of Harlem was the first American ballet company to perform in Russia as a part of a cultural exchange initiative sponsored mutually by the United States and Russia (formerly the Soviet Union.) One of the highlights of this groundbreaking tour was the company's induction into the Kirov Museum.
	Ashley Murphy began her dance training at age 3. She was enrolled in the pre-professional division at Carol Anglin Dance Center from 1993-2002, where she became a member of Louisiana Dance Theatre, an Honor Company of Regional Dance America. In 2002, Ms. Murphy went on to train and perform with Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Dancing Through Barriers Ensemble. The following year, she was accepted into the DTH Company and toured with them throughout the United States and to foreign countries that included Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Greece. In the picture to you left Ashley Murphy is the dancer closest to left. The picture is from Robert Garland's dance title "Return."

R

Portrait	Details	Stage Image
	Renee Robinson grew up in Washington, D.C.. She began taking ballet classes at the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet at age 10. She went on to study at the School of American Ballet, the Dance Theatre of Harlem and The Ailey School, receiving full scholarships to each, and was a member of Ailey II from 1979 to 1980. In 1981, Robinson joined Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She is now in her 29th season with AAADT—the longest tenure of any female dancer in the company’s history—and is the only remaining member of the troupe who was hand-picked by Alvin Ailey himself. In addition to dancing with the company, Robinson has performed at the Kennedy Center Awards, President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration and the 2003 White House State Dinner.

T

Portrait	Details	Stage Image
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Dannytouchbw.PNG	Danny Tidwell joined Americna Ballet Theatre in 2003 as a corps member. Danny Tidwell performed many lead parts, including the spooky spirit in Michel Fokine’s “Spectre de la Rose.” He later quit American Ballet Theater and joined Complexions, a contemporary-ballet company. Danny was also a top 20 season 3 contest of the dnace realty show called “So You Think You Can Dance” SYTYCD. Currently, Danny is a freelance dancer and also a creator of movmnt, a magazine focusing on dance, music and fashion.

References

"Misty Copeland bio". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

Garrett, Giannella (May 2012). "Defying Gravity: Teen Ballerina Michaela DePrince". Teen Vogue. Retrieved May 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

"What is Nora Kimball".

Bailey, Michael Anne (20 September 2010). "Letter to my teenage self". DanceSpirit. Retrieved 20 September 2010.

Benaym, David (12 July 2007). "The NY Times writes about Danny Tidwell being on SYTYCD". Retrieved 12 July 2007.

"The Black Ballerina Heidi Cruz". 13 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.

"Bios of Robert Garland and Ashley Murphy". 2012.

Kourlas, Gia (6 May 2007). "Where are all the black swans". New York Times. Retrieved 6 May 2007.

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External links

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