Title
To honor the legacy of Arthur Mitchell and to recognize the 50th Anniversary season of Dance Theatre of Harlem
Body
WHEREAS, In 1955, Arthur Mitchell, an African-American ballet dancer selected by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein, joined the New York City Ballet. This historic occurrence in pre-civil rights America set the stage for many firsts by Mitchell, and changed the face, future and now color of pointe shoes in dance, forever; and
WHEREAS, Impacted by the assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook founded Dance Theatre of Harlem, in 1969. Nurtured by the optimism of the Civil Rights Era, the school began in Mitchell’s Harlem community with classes taught on 152nd Street; and
WHEREAS, In 2000, Dance Theatre of Harlem performed to sold-out homes in China, giving the country its first performances of “Firebird,” and DTH conducted extensive outreach in Mandarin Chinese. That same year, the company returned to the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, which marked Dance Theatre of Harlem first performance on its stage in 25 years; and
WHEREAS, Now in its fourth decade, Dance Theatre of Harlem has grown into a multi-cultural dance institution with an extraordinary legacy of providing opportunities for creative expression and artistic excellence that continues to set standards in the performing arts; and
WHEREAS, Dance Theatre of Harlem has achieved unprecedented success, bringing innovative and bold new forms of artistic expression to audiences in New York City, across the country, and around the world; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS: That this Council does hereby honor the legacy of Arthur Mitchell and celebrates the 50th Anniversary season of Dance Theatre of Harlem.