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Misty Copeland: American Ballet Theatre

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Misty Copeland
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- …show more content…

Misty became interested in expressing herself through movement in middle school, when she followed in her sister's footsteps of becoming captain of the drill team. It was there that her coach Elizabeth Cantine referred her to a friend of hers, Cynthia ‘Cindy’ Bradley, who hosted a free ballet class once a week at the San Pedro ‘Boys and Girls Club’. This teacher forever changed Copland’s life. Misty would go to the ‘Boys and Girls Club’ afterschool until her mom was able to pick her and her siblings up. Misty was a very shy child, so at first she watched the class for about two weeks until Cindy Bradley convinced her on participating in the class. In the beginning, Misty didn’t like the ballet class so much that she did other activities at the Club to keep her out of the class. However, Cindy did not let her give up that easily. She helped Misty gain her confidence by demonstrating moves that only Misty was flexible enough for. Cindy also told Misty that she was “one of a kind” (Copeland- “Life”, 20). Misty wanted to see if there was truth to those words, so she …show more content…

She is an African American. “My physique, like the color of my skin, is helping people reconsider what a ballerina looks like” (Copeland- “Ballerina”, 9). Her black body made everyone else dismiss the idea of her being a ballerina. Previously, ballerinas were white, had long feet, a narrow rib cage, and a small head. However, her unique look and incredible talent brought full houses to her performances. Many previous ballerinas and dancers were incredulous about having a black ballerina. They had preconceived notions that no one would want to see an African American on stage. Turns out, many people liked seeing a change on stage. “To see all the little brown girls out there in the audience supporting me… is the start of change and the direction where ballet should be going” (McCann, 187). In 2015, Misty Copeland made history at the American Ballet Theatre when she became the first African American soloist in twenty years and the third overall at the company (Caldwell, 15). Misty accomplished overcoming the color barrier for professional ballerinas, and she hasn’t stopped there. She danced and sang on Broadway in the musical On the Town. Now Copeland is working with The American Ballet Theatre for Project Plié, whose goal is to recruit ballerinas from all over the world which in turn attracts a diverse audience. She wants the ballet world to be more open to people who veer from the ‘regular’ look of

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