Join the NYC Department of Records & Information Services (DORIS) each month for their virtual Lunch & Learn Series – an intimate conversation with agency staff and special guests focusing on the collections of the Municipal Archives and Library and the history of New York City.

On February 11th, author Karen Valby and ballerinas, Lydia Abarca Mitchell, Sheila Rohan, Karlya Shelton Benjamin, and Marcia Sells will join a conversation about their experiences and the pioneering past explored in Valby’s 2024 book, The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History.

At the height of the Civil Rights movement, Lydia Abarca was a Black prima ballerina for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, a major international dance company. She, along with founding members Gayle McKinney-Griffith and Sheila Rohan, and first-generation dancers Karlya Shelton and Marcia Sells, performed some of ballet’s most iconic works, such as Balanchine’s Serenade and Geoffrey Holder’s Dougla.

The Swans of Harlem performed for nobles and celebrities, with Harlem Renaissance icon Josephine Baker at the White House, and across the globe. But decades later, there was almost no record of their groundbreaking history. Out of a sisterhood that had grown even deeper with the years, the dancers joined forces again to share their story with the world.

Hear firsthand accounts of the historic careers of these extraordinarily accomplished women, the sustaining and grounding power of female friendship, and a glimpse into the rich and complex history of Black ballet.