Spence School Library: Dance History: Arthur Mitchell

Background Research

Oxford African American Studies - Africa and Diaspora Studies This link opens in a new window
An extensive scholarly collection that focuses on the lives and events that have shaped African American and African history and culture.
American History Online This link opens in a new window
Reference Resource. Spans more than 500 years of political, military, social, and cultural history to cover the American experience.
Gale in Context: U.S. History This link opens in a new window
Provides background information on U.S. history, covering the major events and people. This resource offers primary source documents, reference articles, journal and magazine articles, images, video and audio and maps.

Proquest Comprehensive This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive: cross-search all our ProQuest databases at once. It contains access to historical and current newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journal articles. Subject Areas: Arts & Humanities, Business, General Research, Health Sciences & Nursing, Literature, News & Issues, Science & Technology, Social Sciences
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR provides access to full-text journal articles in the arts, sciences, humanities and social sciences. While you won’t find current journal articles, you will find articles dating from 3-5 years ago to many decades ago.

Dance Theatre of Harlem Website
In 1969, at the height of the civil rights movement, Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook founded Dance Theatre of Harlem.
Arthur Mitchell: Harlem's Ballet Trailblazer
Exhibition created by Columbia University Libraries
Arthur Mitchell's oral history
Excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project
Accelerated Motion: Towards a New Dance Literacy in America
"A series of dynamic and interactive educational materials aimed at fostering a multidisciplinary understanding of how movement ideas are enacted in various aspects of American culture."

Balanchine Foundation Video Archives: ARTHUR MITCHELL Coaching the Pas De Deux from Agon. Directed by Reynolds, Nancy. George Balanchine Foundation, 2006.
Arthur Mitchell, who created the male role in the pas de deux of George Balanchine's Agon for the New York City Ballet in 1957, coaches both roles for his Dance Theatre of Harlem dancers. In the interview section, he discusses the creation of Agon and other Balanchine ballets including the partnering aspects and details of the way in which Balanchine taught specific steps and movements. He also reminisces about the racial issues involved with his participation in this work and in society during the 1950's, and Stravinsky's influence during the dress rehearsal process.
Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive
"Jacob’s Pillow Dance Interactive is an ever-growing collection of dance videos filmed at Jacob’s Pillow from the 1930s to today."
Jerome Robbins Dance Division Audio and Moving Image Archive
"Explore the Dance Division's digitized moving image and audio recordings." - New York Public Library Digital Collections.

Artstor This link opens in a new window
Artstor is a digital library of more than one million high-quality images in arts and architecture, the social sciences and the humanities. The resource offers tools that can be used to view present and manage images. Register for a free account to get the most out of ARTstor.