Dr Copeland Biography

She’s just a girl who had won over 14 champion medals. Who is that you are probably wondering. Well “that girl” is Simone Biles. Biles won over 10 gold medals in the sport of gymnastics. Some people say that simone can do tumbling passes on the balance beam that some olympians can’t even do on floor. Some say that is true some say that is false.

Would you let people hold you back from doing what you love or would you overcome the obstacle? Misty Copeland was one of the first professional African American dancers. This is important because if she hadn’t done it then we still might not allow African Americans to be professional dancers. Also with her being brave and strong enough to not give up even when they didn’t like her she is teaching kids that you should not let others decide what you will do and who you will be. Misty Copeland’s obstacle was racism and persecution; it changed her because she gained strength to do what she loved despite the hatred.

At fifteen, Misty Copeland won the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Award. Winning this big award brought her a lot of recognition. She began to audition for summer intensives, New York City Ballet being one of the many. New York City ballet rejected Copeland for “not having the right body type” and her teacher read the letter and bluntly said that copeland was really rejected for the color of her skin.

In an interview for ‘Elle’ magazine, Misty Copeland, a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre expressed her struggles with body image issues as a ballerina and how she believed it was society as a whole and not just

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.

Beautiful, ballerina, or courageous are three words that people often think of in connection with Misty Copeland. Many people may know that Misty Copeland was just an ordinary ballerina that was just like the others but really, she was so much more. Misty Copeland changed the world by working hard to become one of the first brown ballerina/soloist. She showed America that anyone can dance and achieve their goals. She left legacy as one of the first brown ballerinas in the world.

Mia Michaels was born is Coconut Grove, Florida. As the youngest of Joe Michaels' children Michaels' grew up surrounded by dance, she was taught Jazz, Tap and Ballet by her father and her sister taught her contemporary. After she had learned all she could from her family Michaels went on to train in contemporary with Miami Conservatory, Miami Performing Arts Centre, Michigan Interlochen Arts Academy and with the New World School of the arts.

"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

Even with her love for modern, Johnson has a special place in her heart for ballet as well with Misty Copeland as one of her role models. The recent news of Copeland being selected as the first African American Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre motivated her even more.

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.

From war orphan to star ballerina, Micaela Deprince has inspired millions of dancers across the world to follow their dreams. Becoming the first full African American female classical ballet dancer, she has changed the face of ballet. From her story to all of her big accomplishments, she is certainly looked upon by millions of young dancers, including me.

When she discovered ballet,however, Misty Copeland was living in a shabby motel room,struggling with her five sibling for a place to sleep on the floor.A true prodigy,she was dancing on pointe within three months of taking her first dance class and performing in just over a year a feat unheard of for any classical

Lauren Anderson’s career is impressive she has several accomplishments. I was surprised to hear that when she first started dancing Ballet at age 7 she hated it. When she explained how she was not even able to go out and play with her friends I realized how even children must make sacrifices to excel on their dance dream. I was also surprised by how the prices of the pointe shoe have increased since she started dancing and how the Houston’s Ballet budget is more for shoes than anything else. Another interesting comment that she made was when she talked about how as a dancer she had the opportunity of traveling all over the world and how her favorite place is New York. I believe this is great that dancers get the opportunity to see places around

Misty May-Treanor, an outstanding three time Olympian champion, once said, “I would like to instill in people just to work hard. As long as they keep at it, their dreams will happen.” Working hard guided her to countless, fantastic events in her life, and made her who she is today. Misty achieved her dreams by keeping at it all the way through the rough times. She didn’t stop even for one moment.

In the inspiring novel The Third Life of Grange Copeland, Alice Walker depicts the cyclical nature of a black family fighting to overcome societal norms in the 1920’s. The novel describes the lives of three generations beginning with Grange Copeland, then his son Brownfield, then Brownfield’s daughter Ruth. The novel was Walker’s first and it was published in 1970. During the time the novel was published many writers were rebelling against the Black Aesthetic and Walker was no different. Throughout the novel Walker upholds the Black Nationalist view that a revolution is necessary but she criticizes other Black Nationalist ideas such as the belief that violence is acceptable and whites and whiteness are both the enemy.