Misty Copeland Broke a Ballet Barrier and Became a Star
Ten years ago, Misty Copeland was named the first Black female principal dancer at American Ballet Theater. She was 32, which, for a ballet dancer, isn't exactly young. But she took the flame, and she ran with it. Like it was a sprint.
Soon, she'll come to a stop. Copeland has announced in an interview with The New York Times Magazine that she is retiring from Ballet Theater after a final performance in the fall.
She waited a long time for her chance to make history. But once she claimed the mantle, she didn't waste any time — not just as a dancer but also as an ambassador for diversity in dance and the advancement of Black performers in ballet. She was someone who was admired from afar (the fandom went deep) but also listened to.
She had a cause and a platform. And it was immediately apparent that she had a gift for speaking about serious subjects to the general public. She had pull. Devotees attended her performances in droves. Suddenly, the Metropolitan Opera House, where Ballet Theater has a season each year, was full of families, and enthusiastic Black and brown girls.
I only wish the company had promoted Copeland earlier so she could have had more time to grow her artistry. By then, she had been with Ballet Theater a long time — since 2001 — and been a soloist since 2007. Her body, during her principal years, was prone to injury. And then the pandemic happened. All ballet dancers face the inevitable end, but she was really in a race against time. The stakes were higher for her as a Black woman in ballet, a field that has been slow to address its problems of racial inequity, particularly when it comes to women.
Copeland pushed herself to do more, whether giving speeches, with grace, or appearing on shows like 'Late Night With Jimmy Kimmel,' where she led the host and his sidekick, Guillermo, through ballet steps. They wore tutus; she did not. Her exasperation with them is funny, down to earth and blunt — and, therefore, so Copeland. 'Today,' she says in a deadpan, ballet 'died.'
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