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Dancer Profile: Misty Copeland

March 4, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

Misty Copeland. Photograph by Rosalie O'Connor. Used with Permission from American Ballet Theatre and Rosalie O'Connor.
Misty Copeland. Photograph by Rosalie O’Connor. Used with Permission from American Ballet Theatre and Rosalie O’Connor.

“I have never set limits for myself” – Misty Copeland

Misty Copeland actually laughed the first time her teacher told her she had the talent to become a professional dancer. At the time, the teenaged Copeland didn’t even know what it meant to be a “professional dancer”. Yet, from the start, she proved to be a prodigy. Beginning ballet at the late age of 13, she became strong enough to do pointe after only three months of training. Five months later, she was cast as Clara in The Nutcracker. At age 15, she received a full scholarship to attend San Francisco Ballet School’s summer intensive program. By age 19, she joined the corps of American Ballet Theatre.

But her career did not have smooth start. She soon fractured a vertebra in her lower back during rehearsal- an injury that took a year to fully recover from. Furthermore, doctors were concerned that her bones weren’t as strong as they should be because she hadn’t gone through puberty yet. They put her on medication to start the process. As a result, Copeland quickly developed a figure that was not considered ideal for ballet. When ABT management told her that she needed to “lengthen” (code for “lose weight”), she was devastated and fell into disordered eating. But, eventually, and with the encouragement and mentoring of a former ABT dancer, Copeland began to embrace her new body. She said, “My curves became an integral part of who I am as a dancer, not something I needed to lose to become one.”

In 2007 Copeland was promoted to soloist, the first African-American in two decades to achieve this rank at ABT. She hopes to go on to become the first female African-American principal in the history of ABT. Copeland has made it one of her goals to promote greater diversity within the ballet community. She says, “I’d like to continue to inspire dancers, especially dancers of color, in this art form. And I’d like to be remembered for changing the minds of people that may have been closed off to what they expect to see in the ballet world.” Copeland’s advice to everyone is to “accept everything about you that makes you different.”

Fun Facts:

  • She enjoys listening to music before a performance- just not classical music.
  • When she performed in Swan Lake as a corps member, she would quietly sing to herself to get through the second act. She said, “it’s agony, so you have to go someplace else in your mind.”
  • Her favorite step is grand jeté. Her least favorite is fouetté.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egkVCARjFGQ

 

Follow Misty On:

Her Website: http://www.mistycopeland.com/home.html
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mistyonpointe
Instagram: http://instagram.com/mistyonpointe
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mistycopeland

Photos of Young Copeland Dancing:

In Class

Pas De Deux

Nutcracker

Copeland Dancing at Age 15:

 

Copeland Dancing at Age 18:

 

 Copeland Dancing Today:

 

 

 

Articles:

The New Yorker Profile: An Unlikely Ballerina

Copeland’s Journey in Dance, Race in Ballet

Teen Vogue: Ballet Star Misty Copeland Talks Overcoming Racism and Body Shaming on Her Way to the Top

Excerpt from Copeland’s Memoir “Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina”

Misty Copeland: On Clean Eating And The Eyebrow Pencil She Can’t Live Without

Copeland Talks About Her Diet and Favorite Cosmetics

You Asked–Misty Answered

Q&A with Copeland

Cupcakes & Conversation with Misty Copeland, Soloist, American Ballet Theatre

Ballet News Interviews Copeland

NYC Dance Project: Misty Copeland

Photographs and Interview with NYC Dance Project

Books:

Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina

Copeland’s Memoir

Firebird

Copeland’s Children’s Book

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Filed Under: 4dancers Tagged With: american ballet theatre, ballerina, dancer profile, misty copeland

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