Therrell C. Smith

Therrell C. Smith (November 5, 1917 – December 15, 2025) was an American ballet dancer and dance educator, best known for opening the Therrell C. Smith School of Dance in 1948. The school served the Black dance community at a time when other dance schools were closed to Black students due to segregation. The school has operated in Washington, D.C. for over 70 years.

Early life and education Smith was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and attended the Garnet-Patterson Junior High School and Dunbar High School. Her father, T.C. Smith, was a physician.

After studying sociology at Fisk University, she pursued ballet for five years at the Ballet Arts school at Carnegie Hall in New York City and studied under Russian ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska in Paris. Soon after, she established the Therrell C. Smith School of Dance in Northeast D.C. with the goal of providing Black children with access to ballet education.