Clark Center NYC, the organization dedicated to preserving and continuing the legacy of the Clark Center for the Performing Arts, in collaboration with acclaimed dance/theater project From the Horse’s Mouth, will celebrate the extraordinary legacy of five trailblazing Black ballerinas whose groundbreaking careers and enduring sisterhood are chronicled in journalist Karen Valby’s acclaimed book, “The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History.”

The three tribute performances of “From the Horse’s Mouth: The Swans of Harlem” support the forgotten legacy of a group of five pioneering Black ballerinas during the formative years of Arthur Mitchell’s DANCE THEATER OF HARLEM. The cast will include the four surviving “Swans” Marcia Sells, Sheila Rohan, Karlya Shelton-Benjamin and Lydia Abarca Mitchell and in memory of Gayle McKinney-Griffith, alongside former DTH dancers, colleagues, and collaborators.

The celebration begins on Wednesday, October 14, with a master class in the basic principles of ballet taught by Theara Ward, followed by a conversation with Marcia Sells, Sheila Rohan, Karlya Shelton-Benjamin, and Lydia Abarca, moderated by Karen Valby, author of The Swans of Harlem. Both programs are FREE and open to all; registration is requested. From the Horse’s Mouth performances ($20-$25) will follow, beginning on Friday, October 16 and continuing through Sunday, October 18.