How did Arthur Mitchell make history at a major ballet company?

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ballet *La Camargo Dancing*, oil painting of Marie-Anne Camargo by Nicolas Lancret, 1730; in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nantes, France.

Arthur Mitchell made history by becoming the first African American to serve as a principal dancer for a major ballet troupe, the New York City Ballet.1

After joining the company in 1956 as its only Black dancer, he was promoted to the rank of principal in 1962. During his tenure, the company's cofounder George Balanchine created specific roles for him, most notably in the ballets Agon and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Driven by a desire to address the racial prejudice prevalent in the dance world, Mitchell later cofounded the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1969 to provide opportunities for Black dancers.1