“It felt like it was something I could do.” Her students, who can join her program at the age of 4, learn about discipline and listening. They learn to take care of their bodies and avoid a lot of junk food. They learn about keeping up their grades and maintaining healthy attitudes, Ms. Brown says. The students motivate each other through friendly competition during class, she says. In addition to overseeing the program, Ms. Brown raises money so she can give scholarships to students who can’t afford ballet classes. When her first group of dancers grew up, she decided they needed a professional company to give them performance experience. They could look for work in New York or California, but the dance world still didn’t have many opportunities for African-American dancers. In 1970, Ms. Brown started The Philadelphia Dance Company, also known as PHILADANCO! It has become internationally renowned. She wanted her dancers to show their skills to others, she says, so that more children could believe that they could become dancers too. “I think it is particularly important for African- American children to see dancers like themselves,” she says. A dancer is a perfect athlete. “They spend as much time in rehearsal as people playing sports,” Ms. Brown says. “The mind-set is to accomplish Joan Myers Brown Opening the world to students through dance For a ballerina, 17 is considered old to begin a career. That was Joan Myers Brown’s age when she started studying ballet. She says she was encouraged to join an after-school club by her high school gym teacher, who recognized her potential. Because of her skin color, she was unusual in the ballet world of the late 1940s. Not many ballet programs were open to African-Americans. On the day she arrived at the ballet club, the white students were aloof. “I saw how the other girls looked at me,” Ms. Brown recalls. She told herself that she could succeed. And she has. After spending a decade as a professional dancer, performing around the United States, Ms. Brown decided to open the Philadelphia School of Dance Arts in West Philadelphia in 1960. “I started the school to give the opportunity to others that I didn’t get because of the climate of the time,” she says.