Misty Copeland Story

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

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

To a dancer an injury to any part of their body can be critical because they use every body part. Overcoming an injury can give great trouble to the dancer or it gives them great motivation to get back. Copeland, getting as late of a start as she, limited her injuries. She did not suffer from her first injury until she was nineteen years old. Copeland was working with a choreographer when she started feeling extreme pain in her lower back (Copeland 159). She continued to dance through her pain, which in the end made it worse. She eventually got an MRI. From this she found out she had suffered a stress fracture to her lower lumbar (Copeland 160). Shortly after this she got asked to be the lead in the nutcracker production that the American Ballet Theatre was putting on. She had to decline this big role due to her back injury. She had to wear a brace for twenty-three hours a day, in order to recover faster. This injury put her out for a whole year, which in the dance world is a very long time (Copeland 161). During this time her body was developing more because she had more time off (Copeland 165). When she came back everyone told her to lose weight in order to get back to her normal self. This is when her dieting and workout plan started to come into play (Copeland 168-169). Copeland seemed to hit a low point in her career during her comeback. She gained extreme confidence when she was entered into the Princess Grace Foundation contest to win scholarships (Copeland 200-201). Soon after this event she got promoted to a soloist as well (Copeland 231). As a soloist Copeland was offered the role as the Firebird in a major production (Copeland 241). This was a huge deal as she would be the first African American to ever dance this role. Everything was going well until she started to feel pain in her left tibia (Copeland 247). She continued to practice for the Firebird. They then had their first performance at the Metropolitan

Isn’t she a dancer? This question came abroad by Misty Copeland had been sparking the ballet world until 2015. Misty became the first African American woman to be a principal dancer at the ABT. She didn't achieve this easily though. This is the life of Misty. Misty Danielle Copeland has an influence on young and old dancers today by overcoming a tough childhood, becoming the 1st African American woman as a principal dancer of the ABT, and then gaining national recognition for many reasons.

Not many people get to say, “I accomplished my dream”! But Misty didn’t either not until June of 2015. On June 3th Copeland became the first African-American principal dancer. Which is a monumental achievement. She is this company’s first African-American soloist and principal dancer in the company’s 75 years. Not many people have the perseverance to go that far, but she did. She had so many obstacles, but that did not stop her. If you have a dream go for it. Misty is an American Ballerina, and Broadway star, and an inspiration to dancers, and people

Being the first African American Principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre is a big deal. Principal is the highest rank one can become at a major dance company, and rarely does anyone ever make it up there. A big supporter of changing the ballet world, Misty hopes that she is “creating access for dancers of varying racial and economic backgrounds”. Not only does she just want to change the dance world racially and economically, Misty wants to break away from the stereotypical ballet dancer- that of a Russian ballerina type, a skinny, tall woman. Standing at 5’2 and very muscular, Misty had and still has trouble finding leotards that would fit her type of body. She hopes to create dance clothing for “fuller figured dancers and athletes” (Woods). She has joined American Ballet Theatre’s Project Plie Program, a program that helps mentor dance teachers in “racially diverse communities” (“Misty Copeland”). Boys & Girls Club, Ballet Austin, Cincinnati Ballet, and Orlando Ballet partnered with American Ballet Theatre in this project (Collins). Dance studios who could never afford master classes which would give their dancers the opportunity to learn from other teachers were able to achieve that because of Misty Copeland. She would go to their studios and teach the dancers (Stahl). Dancing was not the only way she used her power to positively impact the world. Misty travels to public schools to inspire young children (“Misty Copeland”) and she talks to young African Americans that wanted to do classical ballet and encourages them to go for it (Woods). Other companies such as Charlotte Ballet and Washington Ballet have started focusing on bringing racially diverse children into the dance world (Collins). What she is doing is already causing an impact: people are realizing and doing things about it. Since she spoke up, there have been more changes in

Most ballet dancers start at the early age of 5, learning the mechanics and techniques and perfecting them as they get older. Another disadvantage she had was that she did not have the right body type. She was far too muscular and curvaceous to fit in. She was dedicated to prove the dance instructors wrong and that it doesn’t matter what body type you have. After four years, and after winning the Spotlight Award, she became well known around the world. She put in 17 years of work put into only 4 years, which shows extreme dedication because she already didn’t have the right body. This is why so many athletes look up to her and that’s what separates her from the rest of the contenders for the most influential person of the

Misty Copeland was coming up in the dance world. She was viewed as a celebrity by being cover of the Time Magazine and being noticed on social media. Misty Copeland was promoted to principle dancer at the American ballet theatre. How she got there is the question some ask. One cause that led to this is the hard work and dedication that she put in. The more effort the better the outcome. Another cause was the faith and belief that she had within herself. Last, the example by the people before her.

Misty Copeland, as a young African American woman, takes it upon herself to combat racism in the ballet world. By sharing her story of becoming a principal dancer as a woman of color in a white-dominated field. Copeland forces the ballet industry

Born on September 10, 1982 in Kansas City, Missouri, endured an unruly home life to find her way to dance. She eventually studied ballet under California ballet instructor Cindy Bradley, who realized from the start young Misty was a prodigy. She started pointe after very little ballet training. In 2000, Copeland joined the studio company of American Ballet Theatre, becoming a soloist a few years later and starring in multiple productions such as The Nutcracker and Firebird. In late June 2015 Copeland became the first African-American performer to be appointed as an ABT principal dancer in the company's decades long history, giving her the well-deserved fame.

It’s always good to learn different types and different ways of dancing but at the end we always end up dancing however we want. Most of the time we reflect how we feel. for example, if we are angry we tend to dance more aggressively or with a fast/ angry type of music. If we are happy we tend to dance with more excitement and with happy music, and if we are sad or feeling emotional we tend to dance to sad music and more sensitive. I know I do this a lot and it’s not something I think about, it just usually happens. Dancing is who I am and it helps me reflects how I feel. Isadora Duncan dance very beautiful and I am sure that most of her dancing reflect her feelings. Her love life wasn’t settled and while I was reading how her love stories ended made me think that could have influenced her dancing. That is just a thought that crossed into my head and made me think how her emotional life could of have been. Dancing was her whole, maybe it was the only way she was able to release stress. The advantage she had is that she was a great dancer and she was able to move like no other. Another thing that stood up to me was that regardless of how much she grew with her artistic life she never left her family

American dancer Isadora Duncan once said, “The real American type can never be a ballet dancer. The legs are too long, the body too supple and the spirit too free for this school of affected grace…“ (Needham, 2002, p. 199). Contrary to her belief, after more than 80 years later, today ballet has flourished and become a important part of Americaan dance culture. It is no longer a foreign image to see American girls in tutus and leotards taking ballet lessons at a young age. However, ballet was not always seen in a positive light in the United States. As a country that highly encouraged independent thinking, early Americans wanted to distinguish itself from European arts to be recognized as a culture of its own. Yet, today ballet is seen everywhere

About seventeen years old Misty moved to New York to join American Ballet Theater (One of the best dance companies in the world). She quickly noticed that she was the only African american and her muscular body was different too.

Same as Michaela DePrince, a war orphan from Sierra Leone who became a famous ballerina (Deprince, 2014), Misty Copeland, a child raised in a motel room, involved in a custody battle, who became principal dancer at ABT, has a dramatic unlikely story to tell (Copeland, 2014). Both black ballerinas have been in the spotlights of the news media the last years.