We Are The Swans of Harlem
Marcia Sells. Shelia Rohan. Gayle McKinney-Griffith. Karlya Shelton. Lydia Abarca.
“The Swans of Harlem is a riveting account of five extraordinarily accomplished women, a celebration of both their historic careers and the sustaining, grounding power of female friendship, and a window into the robust history of Black ballet, hidden for too long.”
- The Swans of Harlem
We are an independent organization created by five trailblazing black ballerinas. Our professional careers began at the founding of Dance Theatre of Harlem, where our sisterhood was born. We have enjoyed and nurtured our sisterhood for over 50 years and we continue to thrive for the sake of preserving our rich history.
The 152nd St. Black Ballet Legacy is an independent non-profit organization. We are not an extension of The Dance Theatre of Harlem Organization.
A Note from The Legacy Council
We, as Black ballet dancers, cannot afford the luxury of being selective in the preservation and sharing of our history, given all that we have been through. We cannot be so reckless in our research, that we selectively tout the history of a few chosen names without some level of recognition of the whole. This is not authentic and is repeating the pattern of exclusion that has plagued our people and our culture for the entire history of our country.
We are ALL deserving. Acknowledging, respecting and promoting the predecessors of Black ballet legacy takes nothing away from anyone but rather collectively makes us better and promotes the whole. We are then authentic and honest and our history is kept, accurate, truthful and intact to share with the world.