New book sheds light on forgotten legacy of black ballerinas

By Michiko Clark& Special to the Herald The forgotten story of a pioneering group of five Black ballerinas and their 50-year sisterhood, was a legacy erased from history — until now, thanks to author Karen Valby’s new book, “The Swans of Harlem.” At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Lydia Abarca was a Black prima ballerina with a major international dance company — the Dance Theatre of Harlem, a troupe of women and men who became each other’s chosen family. She was the first Black company ballerina on the cover of Dance magazine, an Essence cover star; she was cast in “The Wiz” and in a Bob Fosse production on Broadway. She performed in some of ballet’s most iconic works with other trailblazing ballerinas, including the young women who became her closest friends — founding Dance Theatre of Harlem members Gayle McKinney-Griffith and Sheila Rohan, as well as first-generation dancers Karlya Shelton and Marcia Lynn Sells. Marcia Lynn Sells began her life in the arts as a ballerina at Dance Theatre of Harlem and, before that, in the Cincinnati Ballet. In 2021, she became the first chief diversity officer for the Metropolitan Opera. Previously, she held positions in the...