From the Horse’s Mouth celebrates ‘The Swans of Harlem’

Clark Center NYC, the organization dedicated to preserving and continuing the legacy of the Clark Center for the Performing Arts, will collaborate with acclaimed dance/theater project From the Horse’s Mouth (FTHM) to celebrate five pioneering Black ballerinas whose careers and enduring sisterhood are chronicled in journalist Karen Valby’s book, The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History.

From the Horse’s Mouth: The Swans of Harlem will be presented October 16–18, 2026, at the Theater at the 14th Street Y in New York City. The three performances will feature the four surviving “Swans” — Marcia Sells, Sheila Rohan, Karlya Shelton-Benjamin and Lydia Abarca Mitchell — in addition to former Dance Theatre of Harlem dancers, colleagues and collaborators, with the late Gayle McKinney-Griffith honored in their memory.

The production centers on the five women’s experiences during the formative years of Arthur Mitchell’s Dance Theatre of Harlem, exploring their careers, friendship and resilience alongside the barriers they faced as Black women in the ballet world. Their stories offer a look at a generation of dancers who challenged longstanding barriers in classical ballet and helped expand opportunities for those who followed.

From the Horse’s Mouth blends dance, theater, storytelling and archival material to share the personal stories of dancers, creating what FTHM describes as a one-time-only, legacy-based theatrical event. For The Swans of Harlem, the project brings this format to the stories of five women whose careers helped shape the history of American ballet.

The celebration will begin Wednesday, October 14, with a ballet master class taught by Theara Ward, followed by a conversation with Sells, Rohan, Shelton-Benjamin and Abarca Mitchell, moderated by Valby. Both programs are free and open to the public, with registration requested.

From the Horse’s Mouth: The Swans of Harlem will be presented Friday, October 16, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, October 17, at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, October 18, at 3 p.m. at the Theater at the 14th Street Y, 344 E. 14th Street (at First Avenue), New York, NY 10003. Tickets are $25 general admission and $20 for seniors and students. For tickets, visit the https://swans-of-harlem-from-the-horses-mouth.eventbrite.com.

The Swans of Harlem at Philadelphia Ballet. Image provided.