I have really enjoyed the recent slate of books released regarding women’s untold stories in history. Here is one about the first black ballerinas, mostly unknown, and so deserving of having their stories told. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️: 5 / 5

Publication Date: April 30, 2024

I want to thank Pantheon and Net Galley for allowing me to get an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The prologue does a masterful job of discussing not just the groundbreaking accomplishments of Misty Copeland but mentions the lack of documented history of other black ballet dancers. It aligns these moments of success with pivotal moments of the civil rights movement to provide further historical context.

Some of the coolest aspects of this story, were the way each character’s story was woven into each other. The story also while highlighting the lives of our 5 protagonists she also presents formative groundbreaking women and men who preceded them along with other people of color within the Arthur Mitchell school of dance who helped their careers as well. I loved in Act 2 that you get to hear a story from each of these women’s own voices which makes some of the tales even more impactful.

As for my reservations, I didn’t really have any. I found the story to be a joy to experience and would absolutely recommend this for others to read. I do wish that there had been photos included in the story or added as an appendix.

Overall I adored this book and the stories shared within. If you’ve ever had an inkling of wonder towards classical ballet or dance training you’ll absolutely adore this book. It shares the highs and lows of these women while they find each other again.

Would recommend for those who are fans of
- Ballet/dance
- Afro Latina and African American rep
- Found family
- Character driven stories

⚠️ racism, colorism, abortion, domestic violence, alcoholism

From the first sentences of the prologue, I knew this was going to be an important book. The story of these ballerinas is amazing and complete. I really like how their lives are followed through to current times and how they lived their lives after DTH. Unfortunately, at times I felt the story got bogged down in some of the details, but it is certainly an interesting, educational, and worthwhile read! Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

I learned a lot about the history of Black ballerinas from this book. It was my first-time hearing of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, it's fearless yet somewhat controversial leader and its role in the Civil Rights Era.

We learn about the Black women who were the trailblazers of this ballet company. They had been breaking barriers long before Misty Copeland. Who I and probably many others thought was the first Black ballerina.

It’s sad and makes me angry how their identities, story and accomplishments have been buried as if they didn’t exist. Thanks to these women for being so brave and willing to rehash this time in their lives with and for us. How they became family, supporters, and protectors of each other as they navigated the institution of ballet that was everything but accepting of them and their talents. They accomplished so many firsts. The struggles within their company and with their mentor. They didn’t have an easy road. They had to fight for every opportunity in a world where whiteness not talent was their biggest barrier. But the passion for their artistry and doing what they loved kept them pushing, striving for more for themselves and others. This book gives us firsthand accounts from them. The book is filled with history and personal accountings of their stories.

This was a very interesting read and even more important history. Our histories should and need to be told. Kudos to the people who write books like this to keep these stories alive. This book is most definitely worth reading if you have an interest in ballet or not. Read Black history, learn Black history.

For decades, when one thinks of a ballerina, a lithe swanlike dancer emerges, She emulates the traditional standard of beauty and elegance required to dance in a premier ballet company. This ideal of a slender, languid, waifish woman/child fits like a puzzle piece into the assembly line of dancers just like her. And she is white. This very exclusive club seldom opens its doors to women of color nor are they included in the long, elegant history of ballet. Occasionally a dancer will slip in the title role whose talent overcame the obstacles of her color, for example Maria Tallchief or Misty Copeland. But for the vast majority of African American girls who dream of being a prima dancer one day face a daunting white wall. Less than 3% of ballerinas are women of color. Black males outnumber them at a little over 4%.

These sad statistics carry over to the reality of capturing the story of dance, a lily white tale of beauty and talent. But Karen Valby recounts the story of the five black ballerinas in Swans of Harlem. Her rich narrative examines a segment of dance history overlooked and overshadowed by the traditional narrative. These five dancers challenged the status quo and became principal dancers for the Dance Theater of Harlem. Widely renowned and highly celebrated, these dancers dazzled audiences and captured the hearts of many including performances for the Queen of England and the President of the United States.

Lydia Abarca, Marcia Sells, Karlya Shelton,Sheila Rohan, and Gayle McKinney-Griffith star in this wonderful story that will inspire young girls of color to follow their hearts and soar. Their singular and collective hard work and discipline in the midst of the Civil Rights movement emboldened them to fight the good fight.

As a Women's History professor, I was so glad to see this narrative added to the ever growing list of works about women and their fight for rights. Valby's work is very detailed and the reader will learn of the world of ballet in a way not visualized till now. While written for the adult audience, it would be great if a YA version of the book becomes available. Imagine how many young girls it would inspire to follow their dream.

Thank you, Net Gallery, for an advanced copy of this book. This is the story of several of the black ballerinas that opened up the field to people of color. We learn how quickly recent progress and recent stories of such progress disappear and are forgotten in time. I am glad to see a book celebrating the lives of these women. I would definitely recommend.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

This is such an amazing book for ballet dancers, and any lover of the arts. This book chronicles the formation and early days of Dance Theatre of Harlem telling the stories of the groundbreaking black ballerinas in their own words, as well as the rest of their lives to this point. To hear their stories of resilience in their own words, as well as to see where life has lead them post their time on stage is memorable.

Excellent history of an overlooked group of ballerinas. Perfect for fans of ballet, dancers themselves, who might not be aware of these women. Well-written, lively prose, charming anecdotes.

Highly recommend! Thanks to Netgalley for the arc to review.

"Art is activism. Let the gorgeous lines of his dancers' bodies serve as fists in the air."

When Misty Copeland was hailed by the media as the first Black ballerina, there was some head scratching from those in the industry, from the families of the ballerinas that graced the stage a full 50 years earlier. The Swans of Harlem uses its pages to right the wrong and bring to light the women who made history half a century before. These women performed for royalty, rubbed shoulders with rock stars and Hollywood A-listers. Yet today they're largely forgotten.

Thank you NetGalley for gifting me an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review and opinions.

Unfortunately, I was unable to download the file prior to it being archived and have no gotten a chance to read it. I hope to read it in the future.

The Swans of Harlem is the story of five black ballerinas who have mostly been forgotten over the years. In the height of the Civil Rights movement, the Dance Theatre of Harlem was put together featuring black men and women dancers who helped pioneer the way for an all black dance group. Among the dancers in this group were Lydia Abarca, Gayle McKinney-Griffith, Sheila Rohan, Karlya Shelton and Marcia Sells. This book gives the reader the insight into this riveting and pioneering time in black history and does a great job telling these women’s stories.

I had no expectations going into this book and picked it up because the description intrigued me. How could these dancers who danced all over the world and appeared on the cover of Dance magazine have been forgotten? It didn’t seem likely, but after reading their stories I do believe it now. I had never heard of any of these dancers, not that I follow dance, but the fact that Marcia Sells is from my own hometown and I haven’t heard of her, as well as the other points brought up in this book, I believe these pioneering woman have been forgotten and not received the credit they are due. Karen Valby did a wonderful job portraying these five women and theirs stories to us. I was hooked on this book from the very first pages and really didn’t want to put it down until I heard the whole story play out. I am very inspired by these women and what they were able to accomplish during their youth and even though they are largely unacknowledged, I think their roles were very important in laying the ground work for the movement that needed and still needs to take place in dance and in life. I am so glad I found this story and got to take a closer look at The Swans of Harlem. I definitely recommend this book and think it is a good book for anyone to read, whether you are a fan of dance or not. This book tells the stories of five inspirational women who were pioneers in their field and it is definitely worth the read.

This was an interesting story about The Dance Theatre of Harlem, which was founded in 1969 and is renowned for being the first Black classical ballet company. 

The book folloiws the lives of the main 5 female dancers who danced with the Dance Theater of Harlem under the direction of Arthur Mitchell.

Karen Valby, the author, has beautifully captured the inspiring human stories behind these five talented black women who challenged the very white world of classical ballet. Spanning five decades, you get a behind the scenes look at professional ballet layered with historical events.

I highly recommend this book!

I really loved this book!! It had so many twists and turns. It kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next!! This was my first book by this Author, and it won’t be the last!! Highly recommended!! You won’t be disappointed!!

This was such an interesting history and I had heard little about it before. I have actually seen this dance theatre perform before. It was great to find out more about the history. This author does a great job balancing giving the women their individual stories, focusing on the friendship and discussing the history of the dance company. Through so much, the women have maintained and earned a place in history.

Swans of Harlem is a much needed historical documentation of five of the Black ballerinas who danced for Arthur Mitchell’s all Black company, Dance Theater of Harlem. I grew up in ballet from ages 12-18 and never knew of this history. When I saw this was getting published, I was immediately interested. I’m grateful that the five ballerinas featured in this book were able to tell their stories through Valby to bring attention to this forgotten history. I have an e-arc of the book, so I wonder if the physical copy includes any photographs of the dancers. If not, I would have loved to see inclusion of this. I also listened to the audiobook. It was a nice surprise to have some of the sections towards the end read by the ballerina themselves or their family members. For any fellow dancers out there, I definitely recommend giving this a read.

Thank you to Net Galley for an e-arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

It was great to get the back story of the five swans of Harlem. This is an important story and a lot of it is based on first hand interviews. The ballerinas even performed for Queen Elizabeth with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. I highly recommend this story for anyone who wants to learn about these dancers who thankfully, are not forgotten..

Thanks very much to the publisher and author for the eARC copy of The Swans of Harlem. The Swans of Harlem was such a well-written and inspiring true story of a group of accomplished, trailblazing Black dancers whose stories have, until now, remained untold in the modern era (despite their prior fame and prominence in the dance world). I loved this book as an adult who has dabbled in ballet from time to time, but I don't believe you have to be a dancer (or even someone who attends the ballet) to enjoy the dancers' stories.

The sense of loss in “The Swans of Harlem: is strong. These women — Lydia Abarca, Gayle McKinney-Griffith, Sheila Rohan, Marcia Sells and Karlya Shelton — were robbed of laurels. Abarca’s family was so concerned by her erasure from dance history that they instigated the telling of this story. If it were just a quest for cultural remedy the result might have been nothing published. It shows the ugliness of a segregated art form. The company was so influential that just two years after its 1969 founding, George Balanchine invited his former protégé, Mitchell, to share the stage with City Ballet at Lincoln Center. After that historic performance, members of the Bolshoi would check out the rehearsals to see. “One founding board member said dancers with athleticism and technique and exuberance and freshness as if they needed to prove something.” This was the Swans’ milieu. It’s by getting personal that it becomes real. I will never forget the stories of the “swans of Harlem.” To think that it was forgettable makes me sad. I am so glad that this book was written. It is an important part of American history.

This book recounts the stories of black ballerinas who seem to be forgotten in history. It starts with Lydia Abarca’s story, who rose to fame as part of the international Dance Theater of Harlem group. Touring with other black men and women, this group toured not only in the U.S. but also internationally.

I really enjoyed learning about this dance group which I knew nothing about. From the obstacles they faced to their triumphs, this was a fascinating read.

Thank you to @netgalley and @pantheonbooks for a #gifted digital review copy of this book