Bibliography

The Dance Theatre of Harlem

Bibliography

Dance Theatre of Harlem. 2005. February 26, 2007.<http://www.dancetheatreofharlem.com/home.html>.

This is the official website of the Dance Theatre of Harlem company. There are links including history, current updates, and biographical information on the founders. The website's main focus is on the school, company members, and ongoing performances. There are links for supporting the company as well.

"About the Artist: Biography of Arthur Mitchell." The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. March 2, 2007.<http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3515&source_type=A>.

The link listed above pertains to the biography of Arthur Mitchell presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Its main focus is on Mitchell's professional career and the founding of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. It also discusses the company's main accomplishments.

"Arthur Mitchell." WorldWideDance UK. March 10, 2007. <http://www.worldwidedanceuk.com/content.asp?CategoryID=695>.

This brief biography gives a general overview of the life of Arthur Mitchell. It mentions the numerous awards he had received dating back to 1993. There is once again a reference to his involvement in the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Dunning, Jennifer. "Dance View; A Man Who Championed Blacks in Ballet." New York Times. August 11, 1985. March 11, 2007. <http://query.nytimes.com/gst//fullpage.html?res=9904EEDE1138F932A2575BC0A963948260>.

In this article, the author gives a brief biography of Karel Shook's career development. Dunnin explains Shook's journey through the ballet world as an African American male. His success is noted often to lead up to the assumption that he has championed all blacks in terms of ballet.

Shook, Karel. Elements of Classical Ballet Technique. Dance Horizons; New York, London, 1978.

This book was written by Karel Shook after he returned from the Netherlands. He and Arthur Mitchell had begun to build the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Originally published in 1977, the text serves as a theoretical and practical outline of Shook's teaching philosophies. The book contains three sections: The Antecedents, The Theory, and The Practice. In The Antecedents, Shook respectively discusses the tradition of a dance teacher, the American attitude, classical ballet and the development of Dance Theatre of Harlem. The Theory and The Practice are divulgences into Shook's philosophies on teaching, supplemented by a syllabus for the elementary grades of ballet. This book is ideal for the dance teacher who strives to nourish mental flexibility and dexterity of character in their students, as well as to provide and hone technical training.

Foner, Eric and Garraty, John A. The Reader's Companion to American History. Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company; New York, 1991.

This book has a section/chapter in towards the end of the book discussing dance and America's portait of what dance is, primarily ballet. The Dance Theatre of Harlem is mentioned a few times with reference to presitgious dancers involved with the company. The book discusses the difference between the contemporary European styles of classical ballet and new more experimental styles, such a lyrical and modern. There is also a brief history of the African American dance and its development in the U.S.