1. Anne 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.
19 Facts About Raven Wilkinson
1. 2.
Raven Wilkinson was promoted to soloist during her second season with the troupe, and remained with the company for six years.
3.
Raven Wilkinson later became a mentor to American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland.
4.
Anne Raven Wilkinson was born in New York City on February 2,1935, to Anne James Wilkinson and Dr Frost Birnie Wilkinson, a doctor.
5.
Raven Wilkinson had a brother 2 years younger, Frost Bird Wilkinson Jr.
6.
Raven Wilkinson became a ballet fan at a young age, after seeing Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo perform Coppelia.
7.
Raven Wilkinson performed with the company across the US, routinely dancing the waltz solo in Les Sylphides.
8.
Raven Wilkinson's repertoire included roles in Ballet Imperial, Le Beau Danube, Capriccio Espagnol, Gaite Parisienne, Giselle, Graduation Ball, Harlequinade, Swan Lake, and Variations Classiques.
9.
Raven Wilkinson worked briefly in customer service for a New York department store.
10.
Raven Wilkinson stayed for only six months as she soon realized she had been given a great gift she had not used to its fullest.
11.
Raven Wilkinson returned to ballet classes, and not long after, to performing when and where she could.
12.
Raven Wilkinson moved to the Netherlands in 1967 and stayed with the National Ballet for seven years.
13.
Raven Wilkinson performed in Les Sylphides, The Firebird, Serenade, Giselle, Mozartiana, Concerto Barocco, Swan Lake, Symphony in C, La Valse, The Snow Maiden and Graduation Ball.
14.
In 1974, at the age of 38, a homesick Raven Wilkinson retired and returned to the US.
15.
Raven Wilkinson continued with the opera as a character dancer and actor until 2011 when the company disbanded.
16.
Raven Wilkinson played Bloody Mary's assistant in a Broadway revival of South Pacific in 1987.
17.
Raven Wilkinson presented the 2014 Dance Magazine Award to Copeland in December of that year.
18.
Raven Wilkinson's biography is included in Black Ballerina, a full-length documentary.
19.
Raven Wilkinson died on December 17,2018, at the age of 83.