Part one. Arthur Mitchell. The trip to Brazil ; Family and early years ; Dress code for dancers ; Broadway debut ; Katherine Dunham ; Early career and dance studies ; John Butler ; New York City ballet ; The black and White of Agon ; Other early roles ; Roles and transitions ; Requiem and rising
Karel Shook. A child thespian ; Shook's early studies ; Becoming a teacher ; His own school ; Dutch National Ballet ; Amsterdam
Birth of a school. The age of anxiety ; The 1960s dance scene in New York ; Shook's "aboutness" of dance
Part two. Beginnings: the seasons 1968-1971. Controlled avalanche ; Harlem School of the Arts ; Dorothy Maynor ; Lecture demonstrations ; A board of directors ; Church of the master ; Alva Gimbel and 466 West 152nd Street ; Music and musicians ; The DTH style ; Guggenheim and touring ; The seasons' ballets
Pink tights in black tea: the seasons 1972-1976. The times ; Building community ; Allied arts ; Karel Shook's dance philosophy ; Zelda Wynn ; The school grows ; The company grows ; A royal visit ; Broadway and beyond ; Eagle eye ; Ballet building ; Geoffrey Holder ; Pink tights in black tea ; The seasons' ballets
World stature: the seasons 1977-1985. The times ; Artistic growth and community ; The Wiz ; Doin' it, a musical revue ; For presidents and Prime Ministers ; Casting logistics ; Awards ; Benefits and benefactors ; The George Balanchine tribute ; Tours: triumphs, surprises, and mishaps ; The 1984 Olympics ; Television ; Danilova and Franklin ; Glen Tetley ; Firebird ; Giselle ; The Metropolitan Opera House ; Scheherazade ; The end of an era ; The seasons' ballets
Riding the wave: the seasons 1986-1996. The times ; The Shook legacy ; Allied arts and more ; Arts exposure and dancing through barriers ; Balanchine and DTH ; Bessie Schönberg ; The 1922 renovation ; The visual ; On television ; The money pit, layoffs, and cancellations ; Friends and fundraising ; 25th anniversary ; HIV/AIDS ; Company tours ; Harlem homecoming ; The seasons' ballets
Toward a new millennium: the seasons 1997-2004. The times ; Fragmentation and fusion ; A father figure ; Generational change ; Virginia Johnson ; The Garland style ; Five choreographers ; China tour 2000 ; 9/11 ; St. Louis woman ; The 2004 hiatus ; The seasons' ballets
Part three. Emergence: the seasons 2005-2010. The times ; The fallout ; The school's the thing ; Hiplet: ballet and rap ; Hiatus gap ; The DTH ensemble ; Making a new company ; Master teachers and choreographers ; Gentrifications ; Events ; Exhibitions ; Functions and fundraising
A new company: the seasons 2011-2015. The times ; New programs ; The fourth generation and social media ; Moving forward ; The new company ; Administrative changes ; The school ; Advancing diversity ; Events and touring ; Galas ; Divergence ; The seasons' ballets
Evolution: the seasons 2016-2020. The times ; Gender and equality in twenty-first-century ballet ; The school thrives ; Events ; Arthur Mitchell ; "50 forward" ; The seasons' ballets
Afterword- by Karel Shook.
