Misty Copeland: The First African American Ballet Dancer

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.

The first experience of watching a ballet, for me or any little girl, can be fascinating and exhilarating. Wondering how a dancer can be so steady on her toes as she spins in circles and leaps through the air. Watching a ballet, there is a feeling of wanting to be graceful, as well as the warm sensation felt by a little girl as she slips into dream land. My mom had taken me to my first ballet when I was 11 years old. When we returned home home, she signed me up for classes at the local dance center. The expectations to become a prima ballerina would involve much hard work and concentration. I knew when I started it would take years of steady practice and commitment. Learning the history of ballet and the famous

Dance is found in all cultures. It is considered a way to communicate without talking. During the Renaissance period, ballet was considered a Russian specialty. The highly qualified and sought after dance companies would tour the world performing in front of those who had never experienced ballet before. By exposing ballet to the United States of America, the Russians inspired and sparked a demand for legitimate ballet in America. It took place throughout the 20th century, currently known as the Russo-American Era.

The book I chose for my book report was Life in Motion by Misty Copeland. She wrote this memoir to tell the story of all the struggles she had in her large family and in the ballet world. Misty Copeland is an African American ballerina that started dancing at a much later age than most dancers. In the ballet world most companies have had a specific body type for ballerinas. Because Copeland is African American and has a different body type, she has faced discrimination from many companies throughout her life.

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.

At the end of the 19th century, ballet was the most prominent form of dance. However, to Isadora Duncan, "ballet was the old order that needed to be overthrown, an embodied symbol of all that was wrong with oversymbolized 19th century living" (Daly 26). Duncan believed that the over-technical, over-standardization of ballet was not what dance should be about. Her vision of dance was one of emotions, ideas, social betterment, and the complete involvement of the body, mind, and soul (26). With these ideas in mind, she began to create a new form of dance; what she referred to as the "new dance" (23), and what is now known as modern dance. In creating this new dance, she was inspired by composers such as

Debbie Allen was born to Vivian Ayers and Arthur Allen on January 16, 1950. At age three she started dancing and at age four she knew she wanted to be a professional dancer. Her parents divorced in 1957, and her mother was Debbie and her siblings were encouraged to be creative and independent. In 1960, Vivian Ayers took her children to Mexico. When they came back to Texas, Debbie auditioned for the Houston Ballet School but was denied because the color of her skin. A Russian teacher at the school saw Debbie perform and secretly enrolled her. When she was sixteen, she auditioned for the North Carolina School of the Arts but was rejected because her body was “unsuited” for ballet. While she was in high school she put her studies first and went

Kendrick Lamar grew up in the city of Compton. Lamar’s father was a member of a gang in Chicago before they moved to Compton. His mother’s brothers had ties to the notorious gang the Compton Crips. When Lamar was eight

"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

Gregory hines is known for being a famous tap dancer. Hines was born on february

The New York City Ballet conducted a dance performance titled “New Beginnings” on the 57th floor of the Four World Trade Center in New York. The performance took place September 12th, 2013 and was intended to commemorate September 11th, 2001. A tragic event, such as September 11th, tends to leave a bitter taste in one 's mouth. The public is generally heartbroken, angry, and distressed. This performance seeks to influence the general US audience by using dance as a means of changing the perception of the aftermath of disaster. By following a narrative structure, the dance performance begins by setting the scene of New York City. The performance is then followed with analogies through dance designed to provide moments of action, climax, and resolution. The New York City Ballet uses pathos and an instance of logos through movements to enforce their attempt to alter one’s perspective. There is plenty of pathos used throughout the dance performance in order to motivate a change in thinking from the audience. I believe this strategy was extremely effective because by influencing how the audience emotionally reacts to the performance there is more likely to be a change in audience perception. The ballet incorporates inductive reasoning by taking the specific situation of September 11th and implying that, after tragedy, we will ultimately have a “new beginning”. I believe the logical appeal of this implication is effective because the audience is naturally inclined to believe if

“Go within everyday and find the inner strength so that the world will not blow your candle out” (A Quote by Katherine Dunham 1). Once one of the most successful dancers in both American and European theater, Katherine Dunham, a dancer, anthropologist,social activist,and educator, continues to inspire people throughout the world. Named America’s irreplaceable Dance Treasure in 2000. Dunham remains a name heard regularly in dance schools across the world (“Katherine Dunham Biography” 4). She is known for always trying to make a difference and in the process she has become of the world’s greatest humanitarians (Osumare 5). Katherine Dunham’s work in African American rights in the dance world and her creation of new styles of dance makes her an important figure in American dance History.

Josephine Baker was an iconic African-American dancer, singer, actress and civil rights activist. Her rise to fame included her erotic dancing, her comedic expressions and her risqué sense of style. She was well known for her “Danse Sauvage” and her most famous “Banana skirt dance”. She was a unique artist that differed from the rest. With that being said, I would like to focus the main aspect of this paper on her originality of tackling racial stereotypes through performing, her unique sense of style as a world-famous entertainer, and most importantly her evolutionary “banana skirt dance”.

The poem "The Harlem Dancer" is specifically about a women who dances. This is evident from the first two lines "applauding youth laughed with young prostitutes and watched her perfect, half clothed body sway." Despite the fact that the woman is a dancer the speaker finds beauty in her. He compares her voice to "blended flutes" given her an elegant qualities that seems to contradict the environment she is in. The speaker notices the way in which she carries herself on stage, with grace and calm. Even though she's a dancer she carries her self with pride, and in a way this shines more of her beauty. In line 10 reality finally sets in for the speaker when he acknowledges the "tossed coins in praise". He had been so mesmerized by the woman's elegance

While Antheil was living in Paris in the 1920’s, Sylvia Beach introduced him to a filmmaker by the name of Fernand Legér. Together they came up with an idea that would eventually be conceived as Ballet Mécanique. While both the film and the score were created at the same time, the two were very quickly separated into their own separate artistic entities. Inspired by the factory setting he grew up in, and the avant-garde art he was exposed to while living in Paris.