Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (2025)

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By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN

2 minute read

Updated 9:13 AM EDT, Thu September 20, 2018

Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (2)

Dancer and choreographer Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, poses for a portrait in 1984.

Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (3)

Mitchell is seen shortly after joining the New York City Ballet in 1955. He was invited by George Balanchine, the "father of American ballet," after catching Balanchine's eye at the School of American Ballet.

Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (4)

Mitchell dances in 1963.

Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (5)

Mitchell and Suzanne Farrell dance in Balanchine's groundbreaking modernist ballet "Agon" in 1963.

Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (6)

Mitchell stands in the middle of dancers of the Black Ballet Company in 1973. Revered for his artistic accomplishments, Mitchell was driven by the belief that dance can effect social change.

Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (7)

Mitchell and Karel Shook pose for a picture in the 1970s. Motivated by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., they started the Dance Theatre Of Harlem, an all-black classical ballet company, in 1969.

Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (8)

Entertainer Lena Horne dances with Mitchell at a New York restaurant as she was honored by the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1982.

Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (9)

Mitchell poses for a portrait in 1985.

Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (10)

President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton applaud the recipients of the 1993 Kennedy Center Honors, including Mitchell, in the East Room of the White House.

Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (11)

Mitchell, as artistic director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, works with dancers in 2003. The dancers, from left, are Ebony Haswell, Amy Johnson and Rejane Duarte.

Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (12)

Mitchell appears in New York in 2004.

Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (13)

Mitchell instructs young ballerinas during a class in 2004.

Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (14)

Mitchell introduces dancers at a White House event honoring the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 2006.

Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (15)

Mitchell and singer Harry Belafonte hug at a Dance Theatre of Harlem gala in 2012.

Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, dies at 84 | CNN (16)

Mitchell poses for a portrait in December 2017, at the Lenfest Center for the Arts in New York.

Arthur Mitchell's life in pictures

CNN —

Arthur Mitchell, the trailblazing African-American dancer who called himself “the grandfather of diversity,” has died, according to the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Facebook page.

He was 84.

“It’s with the deepest sadness we share the news that our founding artistic director, the great, Arthur Mitchell has passed away. His legacy of passion, power, and perfection will live on through each and every person he’s touched in his lifetime. We love you and we honor you, Mr. Mitchell!” the company said.

Mitchell was born in Harlem in New York City on March 27, 1934, the second of six children. A grade school guidance counselor encouraged him to audition for the High School of Performing Arts, which led to a scholarship to the School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York City Ballet.

At SAB, he caught the attention of George Balanchine, the father of American ballet, who invited him to join City Ballet in 1955. Mitchell accepted the invitation, recalling that in his debut performance, an audience member shouted a racial epithet when he took the stage.

In a bold move for the era, Balanchine cast Mitchell in a pas de deux with a white dancer, Diana Adams, in the groundbreaking modernist ballet, Agon.

“Can you imagine the audacity to take an African American and Diana Adams, the essence and purity of Caucasian dance, and to put them together on the stage?” Mitchell told The New York Times in January. “Everybody was against him. He knew what he was going against, and he said, ‘You know my dear, this has got to be perfect.’”

Balanchine again surprised the dance world by casting Mitchell as Puck in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” a role for which he received critical acclaim.

He became the company’s first African-American principal dancer in 1962.

Of all his accomplishments, he told The Times that he considered the Dance Theatre Of Harlem to be his greatest. Motivated by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mitchell and Karel Shook started the all-black classical ballet company in 1969 in a garage on 152nd Street, according to the company’s web site.

He remained the artistic director until 2004.

He was honored in an exhibition this year at New York’s Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, “Arthur Mitchell: Harlem’s Ballet Trailblazer.”

CNN’s Allison Flexner contributed to this report.

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