American Ballet Theatre Dancer

When I was four years old I was introduced to a tall, petite, beautiful ballerina who spun around the room with elegance, and effortlessly captured the crowd with her stunning abilities. As a little girl, I sparkled with admiration and was inspired to be all she was, it was from that point on, that I ventured into an unknown world of art, strength and expression. Now being eighteen years old with about fourteen years of experience in the dance world, I have learned and developed the norms, values and practices of the culture, and the conflicting theory within it.

I started dancing at the young age of two years old. My parents tried to enroll me in many different activities. Such as soccer, play ball, judo, horseback riding, basketball, and more. Yet, there was nothing I loved more than being able to dance and prance through the studio, in my pink bodysuit, tights and shoes, during ballet class.I started as a Mini, then was moved up to junior level, then to intermediate. That’s when my parents starting asking me if this was for sure something I loved to do, because this was the level where the nights started getting later, and the costs increased. Of course, my answer was yes. My love for dance soon greatly grew, I started taking tap, jazz, and then started moving into taking more challenging styles, such as lyrical, and pointe. Dancing makes me happy when I am down, relieved when I am stressed, and I can honestly say that I have made friendships that I will cherish for the rest of my life through dance.

I learned a lot of things that lead me to who I am today, and yes maybe I am not the best girl in the world, maybe I am not the kindest, or the prettiest, but I am who I am and if people are not okay with that then I don’t need those people in my life. People who don’t dance just see dance as it is. Steps, and more steps. Us, dancers see the movements of the dance and go deeper into their story. To us, each little movement we make means something and as the audience is looking at us and seeing our pain and or happiness, they see the story we are telling behind the movements and the music. I can say I learned how to be someone that anyone can trust, someone who is there for you no matter the situation. I learned how to overcome my worst fears, and learned that is okay to fail. What’s not okay is to be a shadow when the light is in the stage pointing at you. To shut yourself down, and not accomplish what you

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it so my mother allowed me to quit. Then a few years later when I was in fourth grade I saw that my elementary school had a dance team/drill team and it looked like tons of fun. I then realized that dance seemed like a hobby that I would enjoy. So my mother let me tryout as long as I promised not to quit. Of course I made her that and I auditioned for the next dance season and made it. I was extremely shocked that I had been asked to join the team seeing as I had no previous dance experience. Now ever since that moment dance has been more than just a hobby for me. I continued to dance through the rest of elementary school. However I did discontinue when I reached middle school due to my mother getting divorced and my family and I moving to a different town. I did try tumbling and cheer for a while, but it wasn’t befitting. I recognized I did not have a connection to tumbling and cheer like I did with dance, and that’s when I realized dance was my passion. After I came to this realization I auditioned for my high school dance team and this was the point in my dance career where I became extremely involved and also when I began to take it more seriously. I began to take it more seriously because at this point in my life I was out of shape and my body was not built to be a dancer. This was because during the time my mother had gotten divorced it was a difficult transition and I

Growing up was never easy for me, but I did not let that stop me from pursuing my ballet career. I didn’t grow up doing ballet, and taking my first ballet class at the Boys and Girls Club at age 13 gave me a setback compared to others who may have been dancing since they were 3. My teacher put me into many positions,

My mouth hung open as I watched the gorgeous, graceful girls leap and twirl across the gym floor during their annual summer mini-camp. From that point forward, I knew that I wanted to be a Chiefette. I studied up on the history of the team, watched every one of their public performances, and enrolled in dance team preparation classes. Each year, the Chiefettes got better and better, and during each dance, their pirouettes and jetes grabbed my heart and carried me with them through their emotional journey. Their movement quality astounded me; I wasn’t exactly sure how a team of so many girls could dance in unison with seemingly effortless grace. I knew from talking to the girls on the elite team that they maintained excellent grades, participated in other school activities and sports, and volunteered within the community. These girls were my idols, and I thought that the only way to have a positive high school experience was to join the dance team. There was no question in my mind that I would be on the team all four years of high school, and because I had prior dance experience, that I would be one of the better dancers on the team. Throughout middle school, I dreamed about the day when I would finally be able to call myself a Chiefette, but I soon realized that I had no idea the amount of hard work and talent that it took to earn that

Do you know who the first African American principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre is? She defies physics when you watch her on stage with awe-inspiring routines. Misty Copeland is unlike any other ballerina in the world. While dancing at The American Ballet Theatre, she had the lead role in Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, and The Firebird (McCann, 185). She is the face of Dannon, Estée Lauder, and Under Armour. Misty was on the cover of Time magazine as one of The Top Most Influential People of 2015 (McCann, 187). She got her first formal dance training at the age of 13- most dancers begin at the age of three or four. However, despite the late start into the sport, many said she was a “natural” or a “prodigy” (Copeland-

Later that week, my mom and I, found a dance class taught by the coach, I started going to class, one night a week. I had 34 weeks till tryouts and I was going to have to work really

“I'm 5'2", I Started When I Was 13, I'm Black, But I've Made It Happen. I'm Very Lucky To Be Where I Am... It's Possible," said American Ballet Dancer, Misty Copeland (Racine). To get to where she is today, Misty Copeland went through a rough childhood of living in a motel, accomplished her goal of becoming the first African American principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, and has become influential to women and the diversification of classical ballet (“Discover Misty’s Journey”). I’ll start with where her story began.

During freshmen year at Paul Laurence Dunbar high school, I had won my first national competition. It was in Florida and I was on the Dunbar Dance team. We had been practicing for 10 months perfecting our routine and selling desserts and candy to help pay for the competition entry fee.

The reason to begin on your path will vary, but your journey will prepare you for your destination. In "Misty Copeland's Hard-Fought Journey to Ballet Stardom" she was always told she would never be able to be a successful

These past two years have been crammed with so much new knowledge and understanding of dance that I could never be taught at a studio, for example, I have been told many times about my neck being pushed forward if I can recall I was called “turtleneck” but that's beside the point just knowing that I started to notice other things that aren’t correct with myself and I have been able to start fixing it which improved the quality of my dancing tremendously.

I started taking dance lessons at the age of three and once I started you couldn’t get me to stop. I was at the studio more than I was at home, if I wasn’t dancing I was watching the older girls, wishing I could be as good as them. Although I almost quit when I was eight, after my mom left. She said she just couldn’t do it any more and the next morning she was gone. After

The story of Misty Copeland, a young African American girl, does not begin with her as a talented young dancer; in fact, she didn’t begin ballet until she was thirteen years old. However, she had always loved performing, acting, and dancing, especially when she could achieve her mother’s praise by performing well. When she was finally introduced to ballet, she hated it in the beginning. Her teacher, Cindy Bradley, saw much potential in her though, and so Misty continued to dance. She became known as a prodigy, with her long, slender, hyperextended legs that could bend this way and that,

So normally when babies start to walk they turn to running straight after, right? I on the other hand turned to dance.For as long as I can remember if I could stand and walk, I could dance. My natural interest in dance at a very young age my mother entered me in my first dance class at the age of 5. From that moment on and 11 years of dance training later, I still have worked as hard as possible for something I love. With my go-getter experience I have also taken into consideration with music within my coral program. I have auditioned for and attended the Orange County Music Festival as an Alto 2 for 4 years in a row. I have also attended my local NYSSMA Festival and scored within the high 90s allowing me to attend the Area-Allstate Music Festival