Introduction
Misty Copeland is best known for being the first African American female principal dancer in the history of American Ballet Theatre. All her hard work and perseverance leading up to this prestigious title as well as the continued efforts she has been making up to this day is the main reason why I chose to write about her. Being one of the few African Americans to pursue a career in ballet is definitely no easy feat. Especially since she started at a relatively late age, I find it even more compelling and admirable. She was able to overcome the pressures of being behind and pushed through. She is a great definition of how finding your passion can drive you to achieve anything. She found a hobby, passion, and career that allows her to express herself in a unique way and find an escape to release all her emotions. Additionally, as much as one would hate to admit it, being part of the inferior group in society would deprive one from opportunities. Copeland has for sure experienced many rejections, judgments, and biases. Thus, I find her patience and resilience inspiring as she pushed past such negative experiences and achieved her current title as a principal dancer at ABT. Throughout this essay, I will continue to share the mighty life of Misty Copeland as I discuss her early life and education, including ballet training, her eventful career as well as significant facts about her life that made her the person and dancer that she is today.
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| Misty Copeland at a studio posing for Arrive's March+April 2015 edition (📸 Brad Trent) |
Early Life and Education
Misty Copeland was born on September 10, 1982 in Kansas City, Missouri. At just the age of two, Misty and her three older siblings left their father as their mother packed them into a bus headed to a suburb named Bellflower in Los Angeles, California. Growing up, Misty could only recall a repeated sequence of packing, leaving, and fleeing as she and her, later on totaling to five, siblings and mother moved from home to home. It was not until she reached the age of seven did she and her family begin to settle in San Pedro, a neighborhood community in Los Angeles, and consider it true home. She spent her early school years attending Point Fermin Elementary School and then at Dana Middle School. It was at this middle school where she joined a drill team and got recommended by her coach to attend a ballet class at the local Boys & Girls Club. Despite being at the relatively late age of thirteen, Misty was quickly recognized for her talent and proceeded to take ballet classes at San Pedro Ballet School. In 1998, at age fifteen, she won first prize in the ballet category for the LA Music Center Spotlight Awards and soon after accepted a full summer scholarship at the San Francisco Ballet. After the summer scholarship, she spent her high school years attending San Pedro High School while, at the same time, participating in ballet training at Lauridsen Ballet Centre in Torrance.
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| 18-year-old Misty dancing solo for ABT's summer intensive program in 2000 (📸 Rosalie O'Connor) |
Career Highlights
In 2000, Misty received another summer scholarship, this time by American Ballet Theatre. At the end of the summer program, she was invited to join ABT and soon later, in 2001, she became a member of ABT’s corps de ballet. Six years later, in 2007, she became ABT’s first African American female soloist in two decades. Just before Misty became an official member of the company’s corps de ballet, she was invited as an apprentice on a limited contract to perform in the corps de ballet alongside the soloists and principals, traveling to Shanghai and Taipei; and this was how she landed her first dancing job, performing in La Bayadere as one of the girls in the waltz sequence. Throughout her career, Misty danced for ABT, though in April 2014, she had the opportunity to dance with the Washington Ballet for her first Swan Lake debut in the US. She had also, throughout her career, worked with many renowned choreographers: Debbie Allen and her work, The Chocolate Nutcracker; Alexei Ratmansky and his works, Firebird, The Nutcracker, and The Sleeping Beauty; and Twyla Tharp and her works, Bach Partita, Baker’s Dozen, and Deuce Coupe. Though, when talking about a professional dancer, one cannot not mention the repertoires they are best known for; and Misty is no exception. She has performed in a wide range of notable roles such as the title role in Firebird (2012), Gulnare in Le Corsaire (2013), Swanilda in Coppélia (2014), and Odette/Odile in Swan Lake (2014). As mentioned previously, Misty has danced for ABT since the start of her career in 2001 and is still currently with them as a principal dancer since 2015; though, she has been on maternity leave since last year to welcome the birth of her first child and hopes to come back by the end of this year.
Misty's take on the Odette variation of Swan Lake, recorded at the Hollywood Bowl in 2017
Misty shares with the Washington Post her thoughts on journey to becoming a soloist
3 Interesting Facts
Right off the bat, one special fact about Misty that is certainly interesting is her past friendship and collaboration with one of the greatest musicians, Prince. In 2009, she received a sudden phone call regarding Prince’s invitation for her to dance in his “Crimson and Clover” music video. Since then, the two have formed a unique bond with occasional collaborative stages here and there; for instance, one notable stage in 2011 was of Misty performing “The Beautiful Ones” with Prince on Lopez Tonight. Misty also accompanied Prince on some of his American and European tours, and even noted that one of the coolest things she has done was dancing on top of Prince’s purple piano in Madison Square Garden. She also is forever thankful for Prince in seeing the potential and talent in her, allowing her to explore outside of her comfort zone and grow exponentially as a professional dancer. A second interesting fact about Misty is that her ambitions do not lie only in ballet but also in writing. Her first book was a life memoir, published in 2014 and titled “Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina.” She has also written other books for both young and adult readers, most of which carries an overall message of empowering women and persons of color in achieving their dreams. A third, but not least, special fact about Misty is her 2014 appointment by President Obama to his council of Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. By being part of the council signifies her influence, hard work and dedication in defying all the obstacles she faced in order to proudly present herself as a powerful woman and professional today.
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| Collection of Misty Copeland's published books |
Misty performing with Prince's "The Beautiful Ones" on Lopez Tonight in 2011
Conclusion and Positive Impact
Misty Copeland is most certainly one of the greatest icons over the recent decades. Before diving deep into my research about her, I only had a slight idea of how significant it is for her to make such a huge name in the ballet industry as the first African-American principal dancer of ABT. Now, I admire her even more after researching more about her background and early childhood. Despite the financial and domestic struggles she faced as a young child, the racial barriers she faced as the only non-White in her early training, and the multiple injuries, fractures, and mental challenges she faced throughout her career, Misty continued to persevere and received recognition from so many powerful individuals such as Kevin McKenzie, Prince, and Barack Obama. She is truly an inspirational symbol of grit and strength. In fact, her legacy does not end here. In 2021, she founded her own foundation called the Misty Copeland Foundation, which aims to promote diversity and equity in ballet, allowing easier access for everyone. In June of this year, a short film titled Flower (2023) was released, starring Misty as the main character named Rose, who struggles to maintain both adequate housing for her and her mother with dementia and pursuit of her dancing dreams. This film was an eye-opener and brings attention to the current housing crisis in the Bay area. Having created a positive impact in a plethora of different fields and not just ballet, Misty continues to work on her ambitions and grow mightily as an individual and professional artist.
Misty's goals for launching her own foundation
The official trailer of Misty's short film, Flower
References
- Blumberg, Naomi. “Misty Copeland.” Britannica, www.britannica.com/biography/Misty-Copeland.
- Copeland, Misty. Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina. E-book, Touchstone, 2014.
- Costantino, George. “Misty Copeland reveals she welcomed her 1st child 3 months ago.” ABC News, www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/misty-copeland-reveals-welcomed-1st-child-months-ago/story?id=87241694.
- “Flower.” IMDb, www.imdb.com/title/tt22526042/.
- Hutcheson, Susannah. “How I became a ballerina: Misty Copeland.” USA Today, 31 March 2020, www.usatoday.com/story/money/careers/2020/03/31/how-misty-copeland-became-principal-dancer-american-ballet-theatre/2929620001/.
- Kaufman, Sarah. “Misty Copeland to make ‘Swan Lake’ debut with Washington Ballet.” The Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/misty-copeland-to-make-swan-lake-debut-with-washington-ballet/2014/11/12/6765ca90-6a19-11e4-b053-65cea7903f2e_story.html.
- Milzoff, Rebecca. “The Muse.” New York Magazine, 5 May 2011, www.nymag.com/arts/classicaldance/dance/features/misty-copeland-2011-5/.
- “Misty Copeland.” American Ballet Theatre, www.abt.org/people/misty-copeland/?type=performer.
- Pearl, Diana. “Misty Copeland Remembers Her Former Collaborator Prince: 'He Will Forever Live On’.” People, 2 May 2016, www.people.com/celebrity/misty-copeland-remembers-prince/.
