Young Dance Theatre of Harlem School students in the library

From the beginning Dance Theatre of Harlem was a place where students learned to be organized, disciplined and patient with a smile.

"It is time to face the children of the world and see in their eyes what our future is going to be. In the midst of urban chaos, with its political dichotomy and disintegration, the young are lost and floundering in a turbulent sea of ever-changing social mores that promise them no hope for the time that will be their lives. Children are begging for a disciplined structured persuasion that will set their feet on a road toward a future that is solid and convincing."

Karel Shook from "The First Ten Years"