British dancer Gregory James was sent to work for and train with the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1985, along with Adesola Akinleye, Paul Bailey, and Samantha Webb. This decision, by the Greater London Council, was due to the lack of opportunities in ballet companies for Black dancers at the time. The Council partially paid the dancers’ cost of living. Though James had officially joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem Workshop Ensemble, he also danced in the main company’s corps de ballet (Narratives 59). He remained with the company for several years after 1985.

Sources:

Narratives in Black British Dance: Embodied Practices. Germany, Springer International Publishing, 2018.
Dance, The Crisis Oct 1985