Ballethnic co-founder Nena Gilreath poses on Ballethnic Way. Cheney Street in East Point, GA has now been changed to Ballethnic Way. Courtesy Photo.
By Norma Porter
Founded in 1990, Ballethnic became the second professional, Black Ballet company in addition to the Dance Theatre of Harlem, which was founded by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook in 1968.
Thirty-four years later, Ballethnic founders Nena Gilreath and Waverly T. Lucas II are “spreading the gospel of Ballet” regionally in the Greater Atlanta area and internationally in Canada, Holland, and Tanzania. The couple’s impact locally has garnered the attention of local government officials.
East Point, GA Mayor Deana Holiday Ingraham and the city council voted unanimously to change the street name Ballethnic is located on from Cheney Street to Ballethnic Way last September. Read more.