by Gabi: The Swans of Harlem is a long overdue celebration of five African-American pioneers of the Dance Theater of Harlem. With the leadership and vision of Arthur Mitchell, these five ballerinas and others in the company paved the way for decades of Black dancers to come. They achieved many “firsts” in a classic dance discipline which was considered by some people of the time to be a white dance discipline. The book follows the lives of these five amazing dancers during and after their years with the Dance Theater of Harlem – their sacrifices, their successes, their challenges, and their sisterhood. It is an inspiring story which sent me down a rabbit hole as I researched additional information and watched video clips of their performances. I loved this book.
An added bonus – the audiobook version had sections towards the end in their own voices.
