Anne Raven Wilkinson
(February 2, 1935 – December 17, 2018)
Trailblazer
She was an American dancer who is credited with having been the first African-American woman to dance for a major classical ballet company. Wilkinson broke the color barrier in 1955 when she signed a contract to dance full-time with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She was promoted to soloist during her second season with the troupe and remained with the company for six years. Wilkinson later became a mentor to American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland.
The First Black American woman to dance for a major CLASSICAL BALLET COMPANY by braking the color barrier in 1955 when she signed a contract to dance full time with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She was promoted to soloist during her second season with the troupe, and remained with the company for six years.
Anne Raven Wilkinson was born in New York City on November 2, 1935 to Anne James Wilkinson and Dr. Frost Bernie Wilkinson, a dentist. Her parents had two children her and a brother, Frost Bernie Wilkinson Jr. The family lived in a middle-class neighborhood in Harlem. Her father had a dental office at 152nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue was located across the street from the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
Her parents took her to see a ballet with Janet Collins in. After seeing Collins in the ballet she knew that is what she wanted to do . Her parents saw her passion which was ballet and encourage her. Her mother enrolled her into ballet school and was taught. .Her mother was influential pursuing ballet training for her. When the director of Ballet de Russe purchased Monte Carlo, her ballet school the students were invited to try out for his ballet company.
Due to the fact of her race as a black woman it was challenging due to the fact of high racism at that time. Her dancing colleagues at the time discouraged her from auditioning. That did not stop her for her passion and vision made her persist despite the color of her skin. After attempting several try-outs she was accepted on a six-week trial basis in 1955. Wilkinson (who has light skin) and her parents were told that they were not to let the public know she was black. She would be forced to wear white makeup to appear white in order to perform in the segregated south. Two years after joining the Ballet Russe, she was barred from staying with her company in an Atlanta hotel. When the hotel’s owner asked her whether she was black, Wilkinson refused to lie and stated she was black.
Increasingly, racial discrimination became a problem for her professionally and personally. The company’s director prohibited her from dancing in certain towns so they sent her to other cities where she could safely wait for the company’s arrival. After she had been with the Ballet Russe for several years achieving great dancing success, Wilkinson was discourage by the management team that she will not go any further in ballet and that she should consider leaving the company to start a school of African dance. Appalled by this suggestion, and exhausted from the years of racism, Wilkinson left the company. After auditioning for other ballet companies she was unsuccessful. During this time she took a break from dancing for approximately several years and became a dance instructor she taught ballet and gave lecture and demonstrations. At one point, she was a guest teacher in the Bahamas for two weeks with a company managed by a former member of Ballet Russe.
She also joined a nunnery for about six months. In the mid-1960s, after performing in Washington, DC with a member of Holland’s National Ballet, Wilkinson was invited to join their company. She went to Holland in the fall of 1967 and did not return to the US until 1974. Wilkinson’s acting credits include the role of Bloody Mary’s Assistant in Broadways South Pacific 1987 and Malla in A Little Night Music 1990-1991. Wilkinson later became a mentor to American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland, presenting Copeland with the 2014 Dance Magazine Award. Currently Wilkinson is a member of the New York City Opera and today she can still be seen in many performances.
Raven Wilkinson died on December 17, 2018 at the age of 83.
2015 Dance/USA Trustee Awardee
2015 She was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential
photos are of raven and also includes Misty