The Swans of Harlem

January 1, 2024
A journalist uncovers the forgotten legacy of a group of pioneering Black ballerinas. In 1969, Arthur Mitchell--"the first Black principal dancer" of George Balanchine's famed City Ballet--"formally incorporated" the Dance Theatre of Harlem, writes Valby, an Austin-based journalist and former EW writer. Begun in the shadow of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, the theater's purpose was to "once and for all prove that a person's skin color was irrelevant to their right or relationship to classical dance." To this end, Mitchell recruited and trained a collection of talented Black ballerinas, including Lydia Abarca, the company's prima ballerina, who dreamed of one day buying her parents a house; Sheila Rohan, whose widowed mother had raised her on Staten Island; and Gayle McKinney-Griffith, Marcia Sells, and Karlya Shelton, who left their Connecticut, Ohio, and Colorado families (respectively) to try to make it in the world of New York dance. In its early years, the theater grew thanks to the talent, strength, grit, and ingenuity of these remarkable women, who, in a time of intense racial inequality, earned standing ovations on European tours and solicited donations that would keep the company afloat for decades to come. Together, they weathered Mitchell's tyrannical training techniques, colorism, and sexual harassment, all of which complicated their idolization of the man they credited with the success of their careers. Valby, "a white woman with two Black daughters who are dancers themselves," is a skilled storyteller with an eye for significant details and thematic complexity. While her decision to begin and end the book with Misty Copeland's widespread misidentification as the first Black prima ballerina detracts from the dynamic, tumultuous, and inspiring journey of the five central ballerinas, the book is deeply researched and full of heart. A rich, detailed, and complex history of Harlem's first prima ballerinas.

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Starred review from January 15, 2024
Vanity Fair contributor Valby (Welcome to Utopia) paints a vibrant portrait of the “first permanent Black professional ballet company” in the U.S and the five trailblazing dancers who put it on the map. Originated in 1968 by George Balanchine protégé Arthur Mitchell, the Dance Theatre of Harlem featured “founding” ballerinas Lydia Abarca, Mitchell’s “prized” dancer who later landed on the covers of Essence and Dance magazines; Sheila Rohan, who performed while running a household and raising three children; Juillard-trained Gayle McKinney-Grffith, who served as the company’s “ballet mistress” and later taught choreography for the 1978 film The Wiz; Marcia Sells, who joined the company at just 16; and Karlya Shelton, who stepped in with little notice to star in the 1978 production of Serenade. The company shattered artistic boundaries even as it strained under financial pressures, the whims of the brilliant yet tyrannical Mitchell, and an old guard media that favored more renowned—and more white—troupes. Valby meticulously untangles the prejudices woven into the dance world and analyzes the politics of establishing a Black ballet company amid a period of backlash to the civil rights movement (“Let the gorgeous lines of his dancers’ bodies serve as fists in the air,” she writes of Mitchell’s mission). In the process, Valby successfully counters the perception that Misty Copeland was the “first” Black American ballerina. The result is a captivating corrective to an often-whitewashed history. Agent: Barbara Jones, Stuart Krichevsky Literary.

February 1, 2024

In this biography already optioned by Netflix through a competitive auction, Valby tells the forgotten story of a pioneering group of five Black ballerinas, detailing their historic, glamorous careers and their enduring friendships, along with a glimpse into the world of professional ballet. With a 100K-copy first printing. Prepub Alert.

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April 15, 2024
In spite of their accomplishments, Lydia Abarca-Mitchell, Gayle McKinney-Griffith, Sheila Rohan, Marcia Sells, and Karlya Shelton-Benjamin, founding and first-generation members of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, were hidden figures in the written history of American ballet. At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, they formed the 152nd Street Black Ballet Legacy Council and began meeting on Zoom to celebrate their shared history and reclaim their roles in dance history. As Shelton-Benjamin told Valby in the New York Times article that became the inspiration for this book, "There's been so much of African American history that's been denied or pushed to the back . . . we have to have a voice." All of their voices are heard in this engaging and insightful collective memoir. Although these ballerinas came from different backgrounds, they were all trailblazers in a dance world devoid of diversity. Their individual stories are woven into a powerful narrative of professional triumphs and personal challenges that celebrates Black excellence in ballet. Anyone who appreciates dance will be enriched and inspired by the stories of these five intrepid dancers.

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