Forget dancing!

Arthur Mitchell in the middle of this group of Harlem Dancers

Arthur Mitchell was told as a youngster he couldn’t dance professionally. He not only grew up to be a dancer but founded a school, now with an international reputation, that trained thousands of children and helped them to develop pride in themselves. The founder of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Mitchell was a good social dancer in junior high school, and a teacher suggested he apply to a high school for perfoming arts. He prepared the required three-minute dance routine and was accepted, but after six months he was told he would never be a dancer, and that he should go for another profession. Viewing this as a challenge, Mitchell was determined to become a classical ballet dancer, at a time when black people were rarely members of ballet companies. Once established professionally, he remembered the needs of city youngsters and recalls saying to himself, ‘Arthur, get out there and do soemthing.’ That something was to teach them to dance. One man refused to accept the negative opinions of others. And because of that, many youngsters have reaped the benefits. The very successful Harlem Dance Theatre has produced hundreds of professional dancers. A similar story happened to a young man named Elvis Presley. When he tried out at the Grand Ole Opry, he was told to forget about singing and keep on doing the job he had at that time, trucking! Good thing he didn’t.