Today, I wanted to talk about one of the most famous ballerinas of our day. She is the first African American principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre in New York City. I am talking about the one and only, Misty Copeland.
LIFE GROWING UP
Copeland was born on September 10th, 1982 in Kansas City, Missouri. She was raised in San Pedro, California where she first began her dance experience. In junior high, she joined the school's drill team with little dance experience. The coach recognized the young dancer's talent and recommended her to attend ballet classes at the Boys & Girls Club.
Cynthia Bradley, who owned the San Pedro Ballet School, taught this ballet class at the Boys & Girls Club. She also noticed Copeland's abilities and invited her to attend her ballet studio. Although starting ballet at such a late stage in life, she was able to learn technique quickly and become an incredible dancer. When she was 15 years old, she won the Music Center Spotlight Awards. That same year, she was offered a scholarship at the San Francisco Ballet summer intensive.
In 1999 and 2000, Copeland attended American Ballet Theatre's summer intensive. She was also awarded ABT's National Coca-Cola Scholar in 2000. One year later, ABT offered her a spot to join the corps de ballet.
JOINING AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE
In 2001, Copeland was the only African American dancer in the corps de ballet. While this was a very exciting thing, it was a very difficult time for her. She struggled with the difficulty of being the only woman of color in a group of 80 dancers. Due to puberty being delayed from dancing, she was prescribed birth control pills. This caused her to gain weight quickly and made her have a negative body image.
But she continued to dance to the best of her abilities despite all of this. The mainstream media caught onto her talent and began to be recognized by many magazines and newspapers. Sources like Dance Magazine and The New York Times credited her technique in performances.
In 2007, Copeland was promoted to soloist at ABT. She performed in many roles in ballets such as Coppelia, Giselle, The Firebird, and Le Corsaire.
BECOMING PRINCIPAL DANCER
In 2015, Copeland was promoted to principal dancer. This is a huge honor for a dancer to receive. It is the highest level a professional dancer can get to. She was also the first African American ballerina to become a principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre.
The most famous international ballet companies, such as New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, The Royal Ballet, The Australian Ballet, do not have many ballerinas of color. And most of them don't have any principal dancers that are people of color. This was a very big deal at the time for Copeland as history was in the making.
GIVING BACK
Copeland has made a large effort to giving back with the position she's in. She has participated in Project Plie sponsored by ABT. This program helps out dance teachers to reach out to dancers in diverse areas that are economically disadvantaged.
In 2020, she fundraised for Swans for Relief by having 32 dancers around the world dance The Dying Swan variation. The funds went to help dance communities and companies struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is important for us to recognize Misty Copeland's contribution to the dance world. She started ballet at a later age but improved and became an incredible dancer in a short amount of time. She has opened the door for many dancers of color. She stands as a figure that young dancers look up to in hopes of achieving their dreams. She continues to influence the dance world every day and is making history with her contribution.
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