Llanchie Stevenson, first African-American woman to dance for the Radio City Music Hall ballet company and the National Ballet of Washington, D.C. 1982: Debra Austin, first African-American woman to become a principal at a major American ballet company.[44] 1990: Lauren Anderson, first African-American woman to become a principal at Houston Ballet[45] 2016: Stephanie Kurlow, first Hijabi ballerina