Manilla Press nabs story of ballet dancers who 'changed the world' of classical dance

Manilla Press has snapped up Karen Valby’s The Swans of Harlem, a book about five Black ballet dancers who "changed the world" of classical dance.

Managing editor Justine Taylor acquired UK and Commonwealth rights—excluding Canada, the US and the Philippines—from Felicity Rubinstein at Lutyens & Rubinstein, in association with Barbara Jones at Stuart Krichevsky Literary. The book will be published by Manilla Press on 30th April 2024 in hardback, trade paperback, e-book and audiobook, as a lead publication.

The synopsis says: "Harlem, 1969. It’s a time of civil activism in America when Arthur Mitchell founds the Dance Theatre of Harlem. A protégé of the renowned choreographer George Balanchine, Mitchell has experienced first-hand the inequities of being a Black dancer in the world of ballet. His mission is to bring classical dance to the neighbourhood that raised him and to present ballerinas from that neighbourhood to the world—to prove that a person’s skin colour should be no barrier to their relationship to art.

"Over 50 years later, five Swans of Harlem reunited to tell their story, and to preserve their legacy as pioneers of dance, changing the way ballet is perceived forever."

Valby said: “This is a book as much about the glamour of the stage as it is about the right to one’s own story. The Swans stood up for themselves 50 years ago when they claimed their right to ballet; now these five fearless women have risen up again by refusing to let their precious histories be forgotten. Together, they are an unstoppable force.”

Lydia Abarca-Mitchell, one of the five Swans of Harlem, said: “It has been decades since our first performance in London at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre, whose audience made us feel most welcome and appreciated. We are so proud that the team at Manilla Press will be bringing us back in spirit by publishing our story.”

Taylor added: “The Swans of Harlem mesmerised me from the very first page. It’s a brilliant evocation of a particular time in American history, as well as a testament to these five outstanding dancers who broke new ground in the world of classical dance. I’m so thrilled to be publishing this important book, and I can’t wait to bring their story to the wide audience they deserve.”