• The very first performance of Dance Theatre of Harlem at the Anta Theatre in 1969. It was the first realization of eight black girls doing Mr. Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco. To actually see it happen was amazing.
  
  
• Winning the scholarship in 1952 to the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet. I also won a scholarship to Bennington College, which was an all girls’ school. I was the first male to win a scholarship there and my dream was to go college but I realized if I wanted to be a professional dancer I should take the scholarship to the School of American Ballet, which is what I did.
  
  
• Receiving a telegram while in Europe with John Butler’s American Dance Theater asking me to come back and join New York City Ballet, making me the first African American to join a major ballet company in the United States of America as a permanent member. Also, dancing on opening night with New York City Ballet in Russia in 1962; they had never seen a black man dance classical ballet and the audiences just went insane.
  
  
• The day Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. I was getting on a plane at Idlewild Airport to go to Brazil to start a company and said to myself, “you know Mitchell, this is really stupid. Why are you going to Brazil when there are so many problems in America? Put your money where your mouth is.” So I decided to go back into the community where I was born, which was Harlem and start a school. I did go to Brazil and start the first national Brazilian ballet company, a symphony and an opera, and I helped design and build the first opera house in Bahia, Brazil.
  
  
• When Dance Theatre of Harlem broke the 30-year cultural ban in South Africa was definitely a high point for me. Mr. Mandela attended our performance and came backstage with tears in his eyes and it just tore me apart. It was in 1992 and apartheid was still in place but we went. I had never toured in Africa before. We travelled to South Africa in three groups; most of the Company came over on the third lap. We were at the airport waiting for the company and as the plane landed, the Sun was setting, the background was beautiful and a South African chorus was waiting at the steps of the plane to welcome the Company to Africa. It was overwhelming and a very emotional experience. Everyone was crying. It was just magical because you must remember, we had never been in a country where black people are the majority and it was like coming home. Something happened that touched the core of all of us; something inside of us just nodded because you hear about where you come from but you never can really identify and it was just unbelievable. I can’t begin to really adequately describe to you what it was like.
  
  
• While in South Africa, I had the opportunity to go to the Cape of Good Hope, the passageway for slave ships. I sat on top of a mountain and thought to myself “my God, do you believe all the people and all the history that has gone on in this place and here we are performing for these people … sharing knowledge in a country that is the seed of the world because everything came from Africa.”
  
  
• In 1984 Dance Theatre of Harlem performed the flag exchange ceremony with Seoul, Korea for the Olympics and it was awesome. They asked our dancers to perform and when we walked into the Olympic Stadium it was so much energy and dynamism, it seemed like I was going back through history. I understood what it must have felt like during the Roman games to experience thousands of people participating in the pageantry and ceremony; it was amazing the pride you feel. It was unbelievable.
  
  Vincent: I could imagine.
  Mr. Mitchell: November 1955 is also a high-point for me; it was my very first performance with New York City Ballet. When they asked me to join the company I said to Mr. Balanchine “I don’t want any publicity that says Negro breaks barrier. Let me join the company and whatever I get, I get on my hard work and talent.” So no one knew I was making my debut and I danced in the fourth movement of Western Symphony with Mr. Balanchine’s wife Tanaquil Le Clercq. You can’t imagine the response from the audience when I danced out on the stage with Tanaquil on my arm. You read about these kind of events in history, but to be a part of it, to hear people screaming, yelling and making these epithets. It was a shock to the system. I always danced for my family, for my people, for the art form of dance and I said “Well Lord, don’t leave me now” and by the end I got a standing ovation. It is something I’ll never forget.
  
  Vincent: Who are your heroes?
  Mr. Mitchell: There are physical heroes, there are psychological heroes, and there are spiritual heroes, who are the ones I feel are guiding me, because I do believe in past lives. I’m back on the earthplane, in this particular body but I bring with me the knowledge and information that has been passed on for centuries.
  
  I was fortunate to have great geniuses of the 21st century as my teachers, and that would be Mr. Karel Shook, who was my mentor and teacher; Mr. George Balanchine; Mr. Lincoln Kirstein; Malcolm X; Dr. King; Mahatma Gandhi; Mr. Mandela. I learned from all of these people who had all the odds against them; I said if they can do it so can I. I used them as my role models.
  
  Vincent: What up and coming artist do you admire right now?
  Mr. Mitchell: Oh, it’s very hard to say but again, naturally I am going to say all of the artists (dancers, technicians, staff, faculty, Board members) from Dance Theatre of Harlem because we still are breaking barriers and breaking down stereotypical concepts of who we are and what we can do. I admire anyone making in-roads in society to show regardless of race, class, creed, or color, it’s the quality of what you do that is most important.
  
  Vincent: What is your greatest indulgence?
  Mr. Mitchell: Storytelling. People say I am innately very serious because I am a man on a mission. Personally, clothes are my greatest indulgence. Elegance is inherent to the man whether he or she is a courtier of Louis IVX’s court or a Watusi warrior. At Dance Theatre of Harlem, we put that concept in the dancer’s being, to express whether they were on or off-stage. I believe it is always important to dress well.
  
  Vincent: Hello.
  Mr. Mitchell: You understand what I’m saying.
  
  Vincent: What motivates you?
  Mr. Mitchell: Talent and young people. We start them at three years old at Dance Theatre of Harlem. We say we audition them but actually it’s a placement class and you see three-year old kids walking in with purpose and focus. It is mind-boggling. I have a wonderful relationship with young people. Being a typical Aries, they like me and I like them, so this whole thing just builds - all this energy - and it creates an atmosphere of sharing with each other. They feed me and I feed them. We end up having a wonderful time; together we create a wonderful energy.
  
  Vincent: Explain the different advantages in being a dancer/performing artist who is African American today as opposed to the days of yesteryear? Have we overcome?
  Mr. Mitchell: Well, the thing is we never have overcome in the sense of equal opportunity for everyone; but the thing is, it is part of our strength having to strive in order to get better. I never used the crutch that I’m African American. I am a man who happens to be black, not a black man.
  
  Vincent: What gave you the inspiration to create Dance Theatre of Harlem? Give us the history?
  Mr. Mitchell: The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. I’m one of the rare people who was born in New York City and I grew up in Harlem during the World War II and the riots of Harlem, so what I had already experienced the thing I did not want to see happen again when Dr. King was assassinated, in the community where I was born. I decided I had to go back where I’m from and give something positive. Get young people off the street; not through violence but through positive energy to help them take all that pent-up anger, hate, and emotion and turn it into something that feeds the body that allows you to improve as a dancer and as an artist. Then it comes out in a positive way rather than negative.
  
  Vincent: What in your view makes a good choreographer of dance? What must they possess?
  Mr. Mitchell: It’s not just one individual trait. Everybody comes from a different point of view. Sometimes you may be inspired by an individual who dances; you may be inspired by music; you may be inspired by a situation. It’s how you take the inspiration and use it to develop your artistry. All these things come together and make you a leader. One of the strongest things you must possess is a concrete belief in yourself and what you are doing, against all odds, because even though everyone says they want change, when you try to make a change, people run the other way. So you must have belief in yourself. I always say “my eye is on the sparrow”. It’s the aloneness of the long distance runner, not loneliness; that’s another thing. It’s the aloneness because when you are leading the pack, the only person you are competing against is yourself. In the final analysis you have to compete with yourself and keep your eye on the sparrow so regardless what anyone tells you - how much they love you, like you, hate you, or fear you – you must know what you have to do and do it.
  
  Vincent: In comparing and contrasting dance today and yesteryear please talk about the gone heroes of the past in the world of dance who laid the foundation, and the upcoming styles and artist?
  Mr. Mitchell: There isn’t just one style; your eclecticism is your strength, not a weakness. I often think of an incredible dancer like Janet Collins, whom most people don’t even know. She was one of the first black dancers and she danced with the Metropolitan Opera. I don’t see anyone today who moves with her speed. Or the Nicholas Brothers; who do you see dancing today who can do what those guys did? Look at Miss Katherine Dunham; look at Josephine Baker, who has the sleekness and the style of Madame Baker? They set the ground rules for all of us today. There was a dancer in the 20’s called Snakehips; all those things you see today are part of what they did as dancers. All those techniques come together and makes the artist of today because it breaks down the lines or barriers that say, I’m a jazz dancer or I’m a tap dancer or I’m a modern dancer or I’m a ballet dancer. You’ve got to be a good dance artist and dance all of the styles, which is dance theatre.
  
  Vincent: The quote “Using the arts to ignite the mind”. Can you expound on that a bit?
  Mr. Mitchell: It’s one of my favorite sayings. I feel anyone who does not have the arts in their life is living in a desert.
  
  Vincent: Absolutely.
  Mr. Mitchell: In America we perceive art as entertainment. In most other countries it’s part of their religion, part o their being. So consequently the arts ignite the mind, it gives the possibility to dream and to hope and in these times that we are living in where technology abounds, you have to have hope, which comes from having the arts in your life. Something has to save the soul and the human being and that’s what the arts will do.
  
  Vincent: I’m a Substitute teacher and I remember this student who had a behavior problem. They were rehearsing for a Black History Month program, and I saw how well he moved and picked up these dance moves. So I told the coordinator of the program…put him with dance…it will help his behavior problem (pull it out of him).
  Mr. Mitchell: Right. From the very first lesson you take in dance, you realize you will get out of it what you put into it: skills that will get you through life. Through dance you will get a sense of discipline and focus and that awareness makes everything around you better, clearer, sharper. You talk better, sit better, you dress better. You are living not just existing.
  
  Vincent: They may not want to be a professional dancer, but it’s going to help them some other ways in their life.
  Mr. Mitchell: Many of the students who come to Dance Theatre of Harlem may not turn out to be professional dancers. But, they are getting the discipline and the focus to achieve whatever they want to achieve. You’ll be surprised as I travel the world, the number of people who come to me and say, ‘Mr. Mitchell you don’t know me but you came to my school or community and because of the dance discipline you gave me I am now a doctor, a lawyer, a singer, a dancer, an artist.’ It’s amazing how every little drop you can put into the psyche eventually gives you a full bucket of knowledge.
  
  Vincent: In celebrating the upcoming 40th anniversary of Dance Theatre of Harlem what thoughts do you have (reflecting)? What would you have done over again?
  Mr. Mitchell: I always understood ‘first a school’ and out of that would come a company. In hindsight, I would have had a greater awareness of the financials because it takes finances to sustain a school and a company.
  
  But, at first I didn’t realize it would last 40 years. People ask me where do I get all this energy and I say it’s my other brother. I tell people I initially started in the womb as twins and came out as one. I keep saying “my life” but I am here with a mission. My goal, through the arts, is that every opportunity be given to every child regardless of race, class, creed or color, and this is why the arts are so wonderful because either you hit the high C or you don’t hit the high C. That’s a universal common denominator towards excellence. So those things are what I believe in and live by. I’m a very spiritual person and I want people to do unto me as I do unto them. If we all did that, it would make the world a better place.
  
  Vincent: Of all the ballets that you have created, which is your favorite? Why?
  Mr. Mitchell: It’s very hard to say what’s my favorite and why. But, I think one of the greatest roles made for me by the great George Balanchine, with music by Igor Stravinsky, was the pas de deux in Agon, which is still considered among the most difficult ballets to dance by any company in the world. It help define the look and the style for neoclassical dance in the world today. So that was one of the things that really created a benchmark for neoclassical dance, and it was done 50 years ago on December 1st, 1957. A well known dance critic came up to me and said, “Arthur what are you doing for the 50th?” I said, “50th what?” He said, “Agon, the role created for you and you danced it”. I couldn’t believe it had been fifty years and I’m still walking around and talking!
  
  Vincent: Absolutely. Now what about ballets that you have created?
  Mr. Mitchell: I would say my favorites are Fete Noir, and Manifestations, the story of Adam and Eve that I choreographed in 1970 but it still works today. It was interesting when putting the ballet together, the most difficult thing was deciding what to do with the apple! {We both laugh}
  That bite into that apple has caused all of my trouble. {We are laughing} I got to thinking: I got Adam and I got Eve and where am I going to put this damn apple. {more laughter} That was really quite difficult.
  
  There is another ballet Holberg Suite that I choreographed for young dancers and it is still a benchmark for young artists to work in the neoclassical style and built on the Balanchine technique. My favorite pas de deux I choreographed is The Greatest. I took the theme song from Muhammad Ali’s movie, “The Greatest”, with the words “I believe children are the future. Teach them well and let them lead the way”. I choreographed a classical pas de deux, but did it in modern dress. We would go into a public school with 3,000 kids and they will sit there and start singing the song because they are familiar with it. To see it danced classically by African American ballerinas blows their mind because many of them have never seen a black woman dance classically on pointe.
  
  Vincent: The school system really doesn’t realize what the arts can do. Still don’t realize. It’s really sad.
  Mr. Mitchell: Yes, and it should be arts education not arts in education. The arts should be integrated in the curriculum. There are the three “r’s”, reading, writing and arithmetic and we say the fourth “r” is the arts, which encapsulates the other three.
  
  Vincent: What projects are you currently working on?
  Mr. Mitchell: We are working on activities in honor of our 40th Anniversary, which begins on February 11, 2009. I love to teach and I’m creating a syllabus to codify the Dance Theatre of Harlem technique, the style which is uniquely ours and which adds another dimension to neoclassical ballet. I tell my dancers that I don’t want them to be classical because that’s an affectation. I want them to be classic and then they are unique.
  
  Vincent: I like that.
  Mr. Mitchell: Thank you.
  
  Vincent: If you could talk to God, what would you say?
  Mr. Mitchell: If I could talk to him… I talk to him all the time {we both laugh}. Actually, I remember our first conversation: I said “Why me?” {we both laugh} I expected this big voice to come down and say “That’s the way it is, my son.”
  
  What happens in my life is whenever I want to make a point something unusual happens and it becomes visible right in front of me and I say “there’s my answer.” The Lord works in strange ways and people are always looking for miracles; they expect the whole mountain to disappear. Everyday there are thousands of little miracles, you just have to see them.
  
  Vincent: As in a Luther Vandross song “Little Miracles Happen Everyday”.
  Mr. Mitchell: Yes! If I’m trying to make a point, something will happen that emphasizes and improves my point, and I just say, “thank you.”
  
  Vincent: Mr. Mitchell, thank you for your time and I’ll see you in September at the
  14th Annual Black Theater Alliance/Ira Aldridge Awards.
  
  
  
  

Complete List of Black Theater Alliance Award Recipients
1995 to Present

YEAR

Best Leading Actor In A Play (Drama or Comedy)

1995

Darryl Alan Reed - Vivisections From The Blown Mind - Goodman Theater

1996

Charles Michael Moore - Urban Transitions: Loose Blossoms! - eta

1997

Harry J. Lennix - Ma' Rainey's Black Bottom - Goodman Theater

1998

Douglas Alan-Mann - A Red Death - The Chicago Theatre Company

1999

Byron Stewart - Conversations With A Diva - A Real Read/ Bailiwick Theatre

2000

Morrocco Omari - Knock Me A Kiss - Victory Gardens Theater

2001

Javon Johnson - Before It Hits Home - Congo Square Theater Company

2002

Michael Hargrove - Will He Bop, Will He Drop - National Pastime Theater

2003

J. David Shanks - Kiwi Black - MPAACT

YEAR

Best Leading Actor In A Play(Musical or Revue)

1995

John S. Crowley - Doo Wop Shoo Bop - The Black Ensemble Theater

1996

Kenny Davis –Sammy: The Sammy Davis, Jr. Story - The Black Ensemble Theater

1997

Vince Harris - The Otis Redding Story - The Black Ensemble Theater

1998

Lawrence Walden - A Tribute To Mr. B. - The Black Ensemble Theater

2000

Ty Perry - The Life - Circle Theatre

2002

McKinley Johnson - Being Beautiful - Bailiwick Repertory Theater

2003

Chester M. Gregory - The Jackie Wilson Story - The Black Ensemble Theater

YEAR

Best Featured Actor In A Play(Drama or Comedy)

1995

Christopher Brown - Northstar - Victory Gardens Theater

1996

Allan Louis- Black Star Line - The Goodman Theatre

1997

Tim Edward Rhoze - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom- The Goodman Theatre

1998

Dexter Zollicoffer - Blues For An Alabama Sky - The Goodman Theatre

1999

Phillip Edward Van Lear - Are You Now or Have You Ever Been? - Next Theatre Company

2000

Kenn E. Head - Voice of Good Hope - Victory Gardens Theater

2001

Willie B. Goodson - Before It Hits Home - Congo Square Theatre Company

2002

E. Milton Wheeler - Jesus Hopped The "A" Train - Seppenwolf Garage Theatre

2003

TIE - Ernest Perry Jr. - Five Rooms of Furniture - Organic Theater Company

YEAR

Best Featured Actor In A Play(Musical or Revue)

1995

Vince Harris – Doo Wop Shoo Bop- The Black Ensemble Theater

1996

Keith Steward – Get Ready – eta Creative Arts Foundation

1997

Kevin McILvaine – This Far By Faith – eta Creative Arts Foundation

1998

Andre De Shields – Play On! – The Goodman Theatre

2000

Percy Littleton – Stones – Bailiwick Repertory Theater

2003

Dwight L. Neal - Howlin' At The Moon - The Black Ensemble Theater

YEAR

Best Leading Actress In A Play (Drama or Comedy)

1995

Lydia Diamond - Faith And The Good Thing - Chicago Theatre Company

1996

Nambi E. Kelley - Coffee Will Make You Black - City Lit Theatre

1997

Ora Jones - Seeking The Genesis - The Goodman Studio

1998

Jacqueline Williams - Blues For An Alabama Sky - Goodman Theatre

1999

Tina Marie Wright - The Dreamers - eta Creative Arts Foundation

2000

Cheryl Lynn Bruce - Voice Of Good Hope - Victory Gardens Theater

2001

Libya Pugh - The Piano Lesson - Congo Square Theatre Company

2002

Lynn M. House - The Gift Horse - The Goodman Theatre

2003

Carolyn Nelson - Whispers Want To Holler - eta Creative Arts Foundation

YEAR

Best Leading Actress In A Play(Musical or Revue)

1995

Kelli Rich - Doo Wop Shoo Bop - The Black Ensemble Theater

1996

Roxiana Fugua - Me And Miss D. - The Black Ensemble Theater

1997

Somatta McKeever - The Divine One(A Sarah Vaughan Revue) - The Black Ensemble Theater

1998

Audrey Queen Roy - Wang Dang Doodle(The Life Story of KoKo Taylor - The Black Ensemble Theater

2000

E. Faye Butler - Dinah Was - Northlight Theatre

2002

Atia Austin - Under Your Spell: A Tribute To Phyllis Hyman - Legacy Cultural Theater

2003

Joyce Faison - Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill - The Chicago Theater Company

YEAR

Best Featured Actress In A Play(Drama or Comedy)

1995

Lisa Biggs - Faith And The Good Thing - The Chicago Theatre Company

1996

E. Faye Butler - Crumbs From The Table Of Joy - Steppenwolf Theatre

1997

Tie - Felicia Fields - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - The Goodman Theatre

1998

Bridgett R. Williams - Lifting - eta Creative Arts Foundation

1999

Celeste Williams - Eastville - Writers Theater Chicago

2000

LeShay Tomlinson - Knock Me A Kiss - Victory Gardens Theater

2001

Ira Carol McGill - Before It Hits Home - Congo Square Theatre Company

2002

Taron Patton - From The Mississippi Delta - Congo Square Theatre Company

2003

Chavez Ravine - Daughters of the Mock - Congo Square Theatre Company

YEAR

Best Featured Actress In A Play(Musical or Revue)

1995

Cynthia Jackson - Get Ready - eta Creative Arts Foundation

1996

Greta Oglesby - Train Is Comin’ - The Chicago Theatre Company

1997

Sue Conway - This Far By Faith - eta Creative Arts Foundation

1998

Tonya Pinkins - Play On! - The Goodman Theatre

2000

Carla Hargrove - Dinah Was - Northlight Theater

2003

Stephanie Booth - Howlin' At The Moon - The Black Ensemble Theater

YEAR

Best Performance In An Ensemble (Actor)

1995

Adrian Byrd - The Little Tommy Parker's Celebrated Colored Minstrel Show - The Chicago Theatre Company

1996

Tie - Earl Fox - The Trial of One Short Sighted Black Woman vs. Mammy Louise and Safreeta Mae - eta Creative Arts Foundation

1997

Tie - Daniel J. Bryant - Do Lord Remember Me - The Chicago Theatre Company

1998

Craig Boyd - Let Me Live - Goodman Studio/Onyx Theatre

1999

Woody Bolar - Pill Hill - The Chicago Theatre Company

2006

Allen Gilmore - Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine - Next Theatre Company

2007

Jonathan Keaton - Blaxploitation 2 - MPAACT

2008

Ron Conner - The Talented Tenth - Congo Square Theatre Company

YEAR

Best Performance In An Ensemble (Actress)

1995

Taron C. Patton - Stoops - eta Creative Arts Foundation

1996

Linda Marie Bright - Home - The Chicago Theatre Company

1997

Greta Oglesby - Do Lord Remember Me - Congo Square Theatre Company

1998

Kimberly He’bert – Shakin’ The Mess Outta Misery - The Chicago Theatre Company

1999

Margo Moorer - Oo-Bla-Dee - The Goodman Theatre

2006

Jacqueline Williams - Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine - Next Theatre Company

2007

Tamberla Perry - Blaxploitation 2 - MPAACT

2008

Charlette Speigner - Gee's Bend - Northlight

YEAR

Best Performance By An Actor In A Musical

1999

Brian E. Smith - One Mo’ Time - Fleetwood Jourdain Theatre

2005

Rueben Echols - At Last: A Tribute To Etta James - The Black Ensemble Theater

2006

Jacques C. Smith - Purlie - The Goodman Theatre

YEAR

Best Performance By An Actress In A Musical

1999

LaTonya Beachum – Mahalia! - Black Ensemble Theater

2005

Yahdina U’Deen – Somebody Say Amen: Great Women of Gospel – The Black Ensemble Theater

2006

Yhadina U'Deen - Nina Simone: The High Priestess Speaks - The Black Ensemble Theatre

YEAR

Best Performance In A Music/Dance Concert (Resident)

1998

Amaniyea Payne - Fat Tuesday And All That Jazz - Muntu Dance Theater

1999

Pierre Lockett - Touch Me - The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago

2001

Sarita Smith Childs - Shanequa's World - Dance Chicago 2000

2002

Oscar Triple Blak Lester - Something About Africa - Najwa Dance Corp.

2003

Jimmy Payne, Jr. - Dedication To My Father - Dance Chicago 2002

2004

Oscar "Triple Blak" Lester - "What If Jesus Came Back" - Najwa Dance Corp.

2005

Armen Ra - Chains and Whips from Tell It Like it Is - Najwa Dance Corps

2007

Brotha Blanks - The Burning Bush - Najwa Dance Corps

2008

Eugene Peabody - brink of nada - Dance Chicago 2007

YEAR

Best Performance In A Play or Music/Dance Concert (Non-Resident)

1996

Lizan Mitchell - Having Our Say - Briar Street Theater

1997

Jasmine Guy - Chicago - Frankel Productions

1997

Darrian Ford- Smokey Joe's Cafe - Shubert Theater

1998

Vickilyn Reynolds - Bring In The Noise, Bring In The Funk - Shubert Theater

1999

Hinton Battle - Ragtime - Livent, Inc.

1999

Stephanie Mills - Ragtime - Livent, Inc.

2001

Savion Glover - Foot Notes:The Concert - Columbia Artists Theatricals/ Maniacter, Inc.

2002

Victor Trent Cook, Rodrick Dixon and Thomas Young - Three Mo' Tenors - Theatricals Concepts

2003

Savion Glover - Bring In Da' Noise, Bring In Da' Funk - Columbia Artists Theatricals

2005

DeWayne L. Woods - Sing Hallelujah! - Passion Productions

2008

Clifton Brown - Firebird - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Corey Glover - Jesus Christ Superstar - Nicholas Howey for Troikastor, LLC

YEAR

Best Musical Direction

1995

Jimmy Tillman - Doo Wop Shoo Bop - Black Ensemble Theater

1996

George Paco Patterson, Jimmy Tillman, and Tom Tom 99 –Sammy: The Sammy Davis, Jr. Story - The Black Ensemble Theater

1997

Jimmy Tillman - The Otis Redding Story - The Black Ensemble Theater

1998

Luther Henderson - Play On! - The Goodman Theatre

1999

Coleridge Taylor-Perkinson- Oo-Bla-Dee - The Goodman Theatre

2000

Garrett David Cope - Purlie - Heads Like Bricks Productions

2001

Ron Walters Jr. - Could It Be Magic... - Mercury Theater

2003

Jimmy Tillman - Howlin' At The Moon - The Black Ensemble Theater

YEAR

Best Original Song

1995

Success - from Steppers Ball written By Phyllis Curtwright - eta Creative Arts Foundation

1996

No Award Given.

1997

No Time To Give Up - from This Far By Faith, written by Marylene Whitehead and Rufus Hill - eta Creative Arts Foundation

1998

Will There Ever Be A Bronzeville For Me from Don't Get Around Much Anymore, written by Vince Willis and Okoro Harold Johnson - eta Creative Arts Foundation

1999

Thank You For Today from Sing Sister Sing, written by Walter Thomas - eta Creative Arts Foundation

2003

The Battlefield of Love from Kiwi Black, written by Poh'ro - MPAACT

YEAR

Best Choreography In A Play or Music/Dance Concert

1995

Kenny Ingram - Dreamgirls - Marriott's Lincolnshire Theatre

1996

Kevin Iega Jeff - Church Of Nations - Deeply Rooted Productions

1997

Eva D. and Jackie Taylor - The Otis Redding Story - Black Ensemble Theatre

1997

Joel Hall and Nancy Teinowitz - Nuts and Bolts - Joel Hall Dancers

1998

Mercedes Ellington - Play On! - The Goodman Theatre

1998

Arthur Hall and Amaniyea Payne - Fat Tuesday And All That Jazz - Muntu Dance Theater

1999

Talley Beatty (Posthumously) - Month Of Sundays - Dance Chicago '98

1999

Randy Duncan - Can't Take This Away - Dance Chicago '98

1999

Geoffrey Holder - The Prodigal Prince - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre

2000

Joel Hall - Y2 Day - Dance Chicago '99

2000

Randy Duncan - Once On This Island - Apple Tree Theater

2000

Ron K. Brown - Grace - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

2001

Van Collins - 3/5 - Dance Chicago 2000

2001

Rennie Harris - Rome and Jewels - MCA Performances

2002

Christopher Huggins - Enemy Behind The Gates – Philadanco!

2002

Gary Abbott and Kevin Iega Jeff - Move! - Deeply Rooted Productions

2003

Lisa Johnson - Willingham - New Beginnings, Overcoming Old Lessons - Dance Chicago 2002

2003

Garth Fagan - The Lion King - Disney

YEAR

Best Lighting Design

1995

Darryl Goodman, Sr. - Stoops - eta Creative Arts Foundation

1996

Darryl Goodman, Sr. - The Temple - eta Creative Arts Foundation

1997

Kathy A. Perkins- Seeking The Genesis - The Goodman Studio

1998

Kathy A. Perkins - Let Me Live - Goodman/Onyx

1999

Denise Karczewski - Indigo Blues - The Black Ensemble Theater

2002

Kathy A. Perkins - From The Mississippi Delta - Congo Square Theatre Company

2003

Edith Jones - Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill - The Chicago Theater Company

YEAR

Best Set Design

1995

Dorian Sylvain - Stoops - eta Creative Arts Foundation

1996

Robert C. Martin - Unjustifiable Acts - The Goodman Studio

1997

Lori Fong – Flyin’ West - Onyx Theatre Ensemble

1998

Lori Fong - Let Me Live - Goodman/Onyx

1999

Robert C. Martin - The Dreamers - eta Creative Arts Foundation

2000

Heather Graff - Doo Lister's Blues - New Onyx Theatre Company

2002

Logan Shunmugam - Playboy Of The West Indies - Congo Square Theatre Company

2003

Reginald B. Wilson - Whispers Want To Holler - eta Creative Arts Foundation

YEAR

Best Sound Design

1996

Ron White- Sammy: The Sammy Davis, Jr. Story - The Black Ensemble Theater

1997

Corbiere Boynes - Do Lord Remember Me - The Chicago Theatre Company

1998

Larry Nance - Shakin' The Mess Outta Misery - The Chicago Theatre Company

1999

Mark Anthony Thompson - A Huey P. Newton Story - MCA Performances

2003

Ministers of the New Super Heavy Funk - Kiwi Black - MPAACT

YEAR

Black Theater Alliance Award of Merit Honorees

1995

Abena Joan Brown, Co-Founder and President of eta Creative Arts Foundation

1996

Jackie Taylor, Founder and Artistic Director of the Black Ensemble Theater

1997

Chuck Smith, Artistic Associate, The Goodman Theatre

1998

Val Gray Ward, Founder and Artistic Director of Kuumba Theatre

1999

Joel Hall, Founder and Artistic Director of The Joel Hall Dancers

2002

Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, Actor, Writer, and Producer

2003

Dr. Margaret Burroughs, Founder of The DuSable Museum of African American History

2003

Julian Swain, Legendary Actor, Dancer and Choreographer

2004

Runako Jahi - Artistic Director of eta Creative Foundation.

2005

André De Shields - Actor, Singer and Dancer

2006

Ben Vereen - Actor, Singer and Dancer

2007

Robert Hooks - Actor, Producer, and Political Activist

2008

Arthur Mitchell - Founder and Artistic Director of Dance Theater of Harlem

2001 BTAA Millennium Honorees

Jerry Butler, R & B Legend and Commissioner of Cook County

Earl Calloway, Fine Arts Editor, The Chicago Daily Defender

Bill Campbell, Host of Chicagoing - Channel 7/WLS-TV

Gloria Bond Clunie, Playwright in Residence, Victory Gardens Theater

Darryl Dennard, Host of Minority Business Report and Chairperson of WKKC Radio

Bonnie DeShong, Radio Personality, WVAZ/V-103

Irma P. Hall, Theater and Film Actress, star of "Soul Food"

Najwa I, Founder, Choreographer and Artistic Director of Najwa Dance Corps

Vanessa Truvillion, Dancer and Business Manager, The Joel Hall Dancers

Walter Whitman, Founder and Director of The Soul Children of Chicago