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 […]

At 4:00 pm on March 19, 2023, the Ebell Club Los Angeles will host a celebration of the life and legacy of world-renowned ballerina Raven Wilkinson. The memorial event will be presented by Robyn Gardenhire, former ballerina and Founder and Artistic Director of City Ballet of Los Angeles, and Ariyan Johnson, UCI Dance Historian and […]

Raven Wilkinson (1935-2018) broke as rigid a color barrier as could be found in the mid-fifties, when she was hired, in 1955, to join the all-white corps de ballet of Sergei Denham’s Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She went on to dance with the Dutch National Ballet as a soloist, and (similar to Janet Collins, […]

Ariyan Johnson was invited as a Dance Historian to research, speak, and coordinate the March 19, 2023, event at the Ebell Club of Los Angeles called Celebrating the Life of Raven Wilkinson.  Robyn Gardenhire the founder and artistic director of City Ballet of Los Angeles invited me to speak about the legacy of Ms. Raven Wilkinson, the first […]

Wave Production March 16, 2023 By Shirley Hawkins, Contributing Writer LOS ANGELES — The life and legacy of Raven Wilkinson — the first African-American woman to dance for a major classical dance company — will be celebrated from 4 to 7 p.m. March 19 at the Ebell Theatre with a tribute performance. The performance will include […]