Dance Theatre of Harlem

Mel Tomlinson - Dance Theatre of Harlem, 1975

Jack Mitchell, photographer

Gift of Lowell Nesbitt, The Dr. Jacob Joseph and Bernice Fox Weinstein Collection, U1981.4.5.25

The Dance Theatre of Harlem was founded by Arthur Mitchell, a ground-breaking African American dancer and choreographer.

Mel Tomlinson, a native of North Carolina, began his dance career as principal dancer with the Agnes de Mille Heritage Theater. In 1974, he joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem where he performed in Manifestations, Swan Lake, and Scherherazade. He later danced with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and, in 1981, joined the New York City Ballet, where he was the only African-American dancer in the company at the time. He left in 1987 to teach at his alma mater, UNC School of the Arts.