History
Founded in 1969, the Dance Theatre of Harlem made its official debut on January 8, 1971, at the New York Guggenheim Museum with three chamber ballets by Mitchell. During the same season the company's repertory was supplemented with several ballets by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. Its European debut was at the Spoleto Festival. In 1981 the Dance Theatre of Harlem became the first black company to appear at Covent Garden. In 1992, the company toured to South Africa in the "Dancing Through Barriers" tour that gave birth to the outreach program of the same name that still continues to operate.
In 1999, the year of the company's 30th anniversary, Dance Theatre of Harlem and Mitchell were inducted into the National Museum of Dance and the Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York.
In February 2009 Dance Theatre of Harlem celebrated its 40th anniversary. In 2009, Virginia Johnson was named Artistic Director, with Arthur Mitchell becoming Artistic Director Emeritus.
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