From The Horse’s Mouth - Celebrate The Swans of Harlem

Clark Center NYC (www.clarkcenternyc.org) and From the Horse's Mouth (www.horsesmouth.org) will celebrate the extraordinary legacy of five trailblazing Black ballerinas whose groundbreaking careers and enduring sisterhood are chronicled in journalist Karen Valby’s acclaimed book, The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History.

This celebration includes 3 performances of a From the Horse's Mouth production. All events take place at the Theater at the 14th Street Y in New York.

Master Class by Theara Ward - Wednesday October 14, 2026 at 1:30 PM (Free with registration)

Conversation with The Swans & author Karen Valby - Wednesday October 14, 2026 at 3:30 PM (Free with registration)

3 tribute FTHM performances at the Theater at the 14th Street Y (Paid Ticket link below)

Friday, October 16 at 7:00 pm
Saturday, October 17 at 7:00 pm 
Sunday, October 18 at 3:00 pm

These events support the forgotten legacy of a group of five pioneering Black ballerinas during the formative years of Arthur Mitchell’s DanceTheatre of Harlem. The cast will include the four surviving “Swans” Marcia Sells, Sheila Rohan, Karlya Shelton-Benjamin and Lydia Abarca Mitchell and in memory of Gayle McKinney-Griffith, alongside former DTH dancers, colleagues, and collaborators.