Raven Wilkinson 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. Born on Feb 2, 1935, she passed away on Dec 17, 2018. Led by City Ballet of Los Angeles Founder and Artistic Director Robyn Gardenhire and UC Irvine Dance Historian Ariyan Johnson, the Raven Wilkinson Celebration of Life and Legacy Celebration includes performances by LA County High School for the Arts (LACHSA) and Colburn School Ballet Dancers with Saiko Fujii, Colburn School Pianist on Mar 19 (4pm) at the Ebell Club of Los Angeles. For tickets and more information, please visit https://www.cityballetofla.org/, or https://tinyurl.com/ebell-raven-wilkinson-tickets, or call (310) 966-0505.
Source: https://julio769.substack.com/p/la-stage-insider-746