B. R. Copeland's Way To Dance

When she was adopted by an American family they encouraged her love of dancing, and she was determined to overcome stereotypes and racist barriers in completive ballet, Michaela studied at the Rock School for Dance Education and at the American

Copeland eventually went to the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) summer intensive. After that summer the company offered her a spot in the studio company. Copeland eventually made it to be in the Corps De Ballet and moved up the ranks. She became the first African American soloist at ABT. She danced with the company as the lead role in Stravinsky’s Firebird. She has become an inspiration to many young girls especially girls of any

The KKK chased her out and threatened her. Everyone tried to make her blend in so that she didn’t make the dance look bad. When people think of an African American dancer they have this stereotypical picture in their head of what they think all African Americans look like. “You lack the right feet, Achilles tendon, turnout, torso length, and bust for ballet” (“Misty Copeland Seeks to Inspire”). That was what she heard from a dance critique before they met Copeland. In ballet you dance together and you typically are supposed to look the same and dance the same. Being the only colored person makes you the one that sticks out and that isn’t the same and people back then didn’t think that was ok. “And it’s hard to be the one that stands out when you know in a ballet company you’re trying to create unison” (“Misty Copeland”). That was a direct quote that she said about herself.

Have you ever thought what it would be like to be dancing up on your toes with the American Ballet theatre (ABT)? That’s just what happened, Misty Copeland currently a principal dancer at ABT had a dream to dance there ever since she started to dance and she didn't think that she could do it,but with training, hard work, and passion you can achieve anything. For the month of September I decided to read “Life in Motion” written by Misty Copeland. This book was very inspiring in many ways. I learned so much that I didn’t know, not only about Misty Copeland but also about ballet. I decided to read this book because, Misty Copeland is one of my idols, she is also a big inspiration and I really wanted to learn more about her. Overall this book was amazing. I would recommend it to  not only ballet dancers but to also people who love non-fiction because it is full of so many details and a lot of imagery that it makes a person feel like they are in her shoes dancing through her life. I would recommend this book because many people can relate to Misty Copeland in many ways, your mind wanders while reading, and because the plot was very unbelievable and surprising.

The early life of Misty Copeland were lots of living problems. She was born September 10,1982. She lived in a poor motel with 6 kids! Her mom had many boyfriends so they had to move constantly but they finally settled in San Pedro. She went to the Boys and Girls club after school every day. Cindy offered Misty to live with her so Misty lived with her. Misty became a better dancer from living with Cindy but her mom wanted her back so Misty was back living with her mom. Misty also started dance. When Misty was told that she had the perfect ballerina body she tried dance. She started dance at the age of 13. She started at the Boys and Girls club and eventually made her way to San Pedro Ballet. She

"I quit" (Copeland 34). Those were the first words out of Misty Copeland's mouth as she walked out of her first ballet class when she was only thirteen years old (Copeland 34). This quote illustrates just how hard Misty Copeland has had to work to achieve the greatness she has accomplished. If one would watch Misty Copeland today he/she may not believe this. The clean lines along with the stretched fingers would leave the viewer to think she has been doing this her whole life. Copeland, being black, has had to overcome many barriers the common ballerina would normally not have to deal with. With her being only thirty-four years old, she has worked many stressful hours to earn her spot in today's dance world. She was born on September 10, 1982 and grew up with six siblings (Biography.com). She moved often during her childhood due to her mother having multiple boyfriends and husbands. Although her family did not stay in one place long, the one constant thing in her life has always been dance. Dance, being her only outlet in her life, enabled her to focus extremely hard on her training. Every decision she made revolved around her dance career, even at the age of thirteen. Her unstable childhood and life events may lead the reader to question: what qualities did Misty Copeland obtain that enabled her to become a significant person in the dance

It’s a year later and Leah loves ballet. She’s even trying to get some dance classes at her school. All of her football friends took some classes of ballet and loved it as much as Leah so now they’re in ballet too! Leah overall learned how the knowledge that her mom had versus her ignorance that knowledge is always going to win over

Betty Marie Tallcheif was born in 1925. As a child,she would always listen to her grandmother tales about being a Osage and her heritage.She suddenly found herself as a regular Indian girl shy, calm,introverted, and obiendent. Betty Marie started ballet lessons at the age of four years old. She suddenly

One of the many reasons Misty Copeland inspires me is how she doesn’t let anything knock her down. Being a dancer is hard, you see all the “perfect ballerinas” and it can really bring peoples self-esteem down. Dancers start to second guess even if they should dance, but Misty Copeland didn’t compare herself to anyone else on the dance floor. It wasn’t just her dance life that inspires me, her home life when she was younger is a big impact in many as well. Misty grew up with six siblings, her mom had several boyfriends and husbands, with her family constantly moving. At one point she was in a one room apartment with her family. After all of this happing to her she continued to carry on her personal life as Misty Copeland and broke all the barriers that tried to stop her. Instead of having her emotions take over and breaking her happiness, she continues life and that is one of the reasons why she inspires me.

After his return from the war, she continued teaching and danced small roles in Shawn's productions. This is where her career as a dancer began (183).

Katherine Dunham was born June 22, 1909 in Chicago, Illinois (“Katherine Dunham Biography” 1). After her mother’s unexpected death four years after her birth, Dunham would be sent to live with her aunt who would give Dunham her first exposure to music and dance (“Katherine Dunham” Contemporary Black 2). Although she had loved

work and perform with their company (Copeland 186). She declined these offers in hope of future roles with the American Ballet Theatre (Copeland 185). Her waiting worked because later that year she was promoted (New York Times). From this promotion she gained great amounts of fame and opportunities. One of her major projects was getting to be in Prince's music video and tour with him (Copeland 216). He loved her confidence and grace she presented when she performed. In 2015 she was named one of "Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People" (Biography.com). These opportunities, along with others, have put her name out in the world for more than just her ballet career. Being first to some is scary, but to Copeland it was what pushed her to want

Duncan adamantly rejected ballet; she saw it as a form of dance that was rigid and unexpressive. The foundation of ballet consists of five still poses, but Duncan believed that in dance, the dancers body should be a "luminous fluid…a luminous moving cloud" (Duncan 51). She did not think that dance should be comprised of a string of still positions. This was what ballet was to her: rigid, still, unnatural. There was too much focus on technique in ballet. Duncan felt that dance was more than technique; it was about emotions, discovering the soul, and using those powers to compel movement. She saw a strong connection between dance and spirit, and this connection had been lost in ballet (Terry 31).

Brian Friel and Colette Bryce, convey the impacts that Ireland had on their upbringing, challenging such traditional perspectives with the ambition in attaining physical and psychological liberation by breaking free from such political and social views. Brian Friel’s play Dancing at Lughnasa, a two act memory play published in 1990, presents a reflection of memories of Michael Mundy’s Summer in 1936, conveying the isolation and struggles endured by the Mundy sisters. The Full Indian Rope Trick, a collection of contemporary poems published in 2005, portrays Bryce’s views on the Irish social and political debates including the Troubles; alongside the political and nationalistic conflict in Ireland at the time; reflecting her life throughout her

The Power of Dance Dance has been a natural movement form since the beginning of time. The origin of dance is unknown, just as the knowledge of the benefits of dance are unknown to many in our society. Many people do not enjoy dancing and also do not fully understand the