When he was 8, Texas-born Adrian Blake Mitchell told his family that one day he was going to train as a ballet dancer in Russia. It was an unlikely ambition for an African-American kid with a background in hip-hop and tap, but, thanks to training from Yuri Grigoriev and at the Westside School of Ballet and the mentorship of Edward Ellison at the Ellison Ballet Program in NYC, it led to acceptance to the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1738, the Vaganova—whose alumni include Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev and George Balanchine—had never before had an AfricanAmerican graduate. Mitchell was the first. Mitchell went on to dance six seasons with the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, partnering the world-famous ballerina Polina Semionova in Nacho Duato’s White Darkness, dancing Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, Espada in Don Quixote, The High Brahmin in La Bayadere, Von Rothbart in Swan Lake and the Fairy Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty—then the war changed everything. Flights were suddenly cancelled and Mitchell, traveling with his small dog, Beau, found that he was unable to travel by train or bus. Together with his partner Andrea Laššáková, Mitchell had an especially dramatic flight from Russia—in part due to Beau but also, it seems, that as an AfricanAmerican, Mitchell faced increased challenges at the border.
They ended up taking an Uber-like service to the border of Russia and Estonia and then crossing the border by foot at the “Bridge of Friendship,” as it is known. Mitchell was questioned by FSB agents (Russian security) because they realized he was American. He was asked about his politics, his thoughts on Russia, his feelings about his work there, and the countries that he had travelled to. After passing whatever test he was being given, he shed tears of relief when he got the other side of that bridge—en route to Talinn and freedom.
Fortunately, Mitchell’s escape story is ending on a positive note. He was back working at his first ballet school, Westside School of Ballet in Los Angeles, as the associate executive director. He is also able to be more present at Dance in Color, a non-profit organization which he co-founded and acts as artistic director, working to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the professional dance industry by making dance education more accessible to all through scholarships and free dance programs. He has taught at American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, and Manhattan Youth Ballet, has worked with industry leaders including Wayne McGregor, Oleg Vinogradov, Darla Hoover, and Lar Lubovitch, and he is recognized beyond the ballet world not just for his passionate commitment to diversity and outreach, but as a fixture on the international fashion runways, modelling for Gareth Pugh and now featured in Paris Vogue magazine.
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