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Misty Copeland
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Misty Danielle Copeland (born September 10, 1982)[1] is an American ballet dancer and author. She has danced primarily for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States.[2] On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history.[3]

Key Information

Copeland was considered a prodigy who rose to stardom despite not starting ballet until age 13. Two years later, in 1998, her ballet teachers were serving as her custodial guardians, and her mother was fighting a custody battle against them. Meanwhile, Copeland, who was already an award-winning dancer, was fielding professional offers.[4] The legal issues involved filings for emancipation by Copeland and restraining orders by her mother.[5] Both sides dropped legal proceedings, and Copeland moved home to begin studying under a new teacher, who was a former ABT member.[6]

In 1997, Copeland won the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Award as the best dancer in Southern California. After two summer workshops with ABT, she became a member of ABT's Studio Company in 2000, its corps de ballet in 2001, and an ABT soloist in 2007.[7] As a soloist from 2007 to 2015, she was described as having matured into a more contemporary and sophisticated dancer.[8] She retired from ABT in 2025.[9]

In addition to her dance career, Copeland has become a public speaker, author, celebrity spokesperson and stage performer. She has written two autobiographical books and narrated a documentary about her career challenges, A Ballerina's Tale. In 2015, she was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine, appearing on its cover. She performed on Broadway in On the Town, toured as a featured dancer for Prince and appeared on the reality television shows A Day in the Life and So You Think You Can Dance. She has endorsed products and companies such as T-Mobile, Coach, Inc., Dr Pepper, Seiko, The Dannon Company and Under Armour.

Early life

[edit]

Copeland was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in the San Pedro community of Los Angeles, California,[7] the daughter of Sylvia DelaCerna and Doug Copeland. Her father is of German and African American descent,[10] while her mother is of Italian and African American ancestry and was adopted by African American parents.[11][12] She is the youngest of four children from her mother's second marriage and has two younger half-siblings, one each from her mother's third and fourth marriages.[12] Copeland did not see her father between the ages of two and twenty-two.[13] Her mother, a former Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader, had studied dance.[12] She is a trained medical assistant, but worked mostly in sales.[14]

Between the ages of three and seven, Copeland lived in Bellflower, California, with her mother and her mother's third husband, Harold Brown, a Santa Fe Railroad sales executive.[15] The family moved to San Pedro, where Sylvia eventually married her fourth husband, radiologist Robert DelaCerna and where Misty attended Point Fermin Elementary School.[16] When she was seven, Copeland saw the film Nadia on television and its subject Nadia Comăneci became her new role model.[17] Copeland never studied ballet or gymnastics formally until her teenage years, but in her youth she enjoyed choreographing flips and dance moves to Mariah Carey songs.[18] Following in the footsteps of her older sister Erica, Copeland became captain of San Pedro's Dana Middle School drill team, where her natural grace came to the attention of its classically trained coach, Elizabeth Cantine.[19][5][12]

By 1994, Copeland's mother had separated from Robert.[20][21] After she and her children lived with various friends and boyfriends, and were homeless at times,[22] DelaCerna moved with her children into two small rooms at the Sunset Inn in Gardena, California where Copeland and her siblings slept on the couch or floor.[23][24] In early 1996,[21] Cantine convinced Copeland to attend a ballet class at her local Boys & Girls Club. Cynthia Bradley, a friend of Cantine's, taught a free ballet class at the club once a week.[12][25] Copeland attended several classes as a spectator before participating.[23][26] DelaCerna allowed Copeland to go to the club after school until the workday ended.[12] Bradley invited Copeland to attend class at her small ballet school, San Pedro Dance Center. Copeland initially declined the offer, however, because her mother did not have a car, was working 12–14 hours a day, and her oldest sister Erica was working two jobs.[12][23] Copeland began her ballet studies at the age of 13 at the San Pedro Dance Center when Cynthia Bradley began picking her up from school.[7][23] After three months of study, Copeland was en pointe.[23]

Her mother told Copeland that she would have to give up ballet, but Bradley wanted Copeland to continue and offered to host her. DelaCerna agreed to this, and Copeland moved in with Bradley and her family.[27] Eventually, Copeland and DelaCerna signed a management contract and a life-story contract with Bradley. Copeland spent the weekdays with the Bradleys near the coast and the weekends at home with her mother,[5] a two-hour bus ride away.[28] Copeland would spend most of her next three years with the Bradleys.[29] By the age of fourteen, Copeland was the winner of a national ballet contest and won her first solo role.[28] The Bradleys introduced Copeland to books and videos about ballet. When she saw Paloma Herrera, a principal ballerina with ABT, perform at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Copeland began to idolize her as much as she did Mariah Carey.[12][30] The media first noticed her when she drew 2,000 patrons per show as she performed as Clara in The Nutcracker at the San Pedro High School after only eight months of study.[12][31] She played a larger role as Kitri in Don Quixote at the San Pedro Dance Center and then performed with the L.A. Academy of Fine Arts in a featured role in The Chocolate Nutcracker, an African American version of the tale, narrated by Debbie Allen.[12][32] The latter was presented at UCLA's Royce Hall. Copeland's role was modified especially for her, and included ethnic dances.[33]

During this period, Copeland received far more personal attention from the Bradley family than her mother could give each of her six children. Raised in a lapsed Christian household, when Copeland lived with the Bradley family, she attended their synagogue and celebrated Shabbat with them, enjoying their family's closeness.[34] In addition to Bradley's intensive ballet training, her husband, a modern-dance teacher, served as Copeland's pas-de-deux instructor and partner.[29] The summer before her fifteenth birthday, Bradley began to homeschool Copeland for 10th grade to free up more time for dance.[12][35] At fifteen years old, Copeland won first place in the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Awards[30] at the Chandler Pavilion in March 1998.[36] Copeland said it was the first time she ever battled nervousness.[6] The winners received scholarships between $500 and $2500.[37] Copeland's victory in the 10th annual contest among gifted high school students in Southern California[36] secured her recognition by the Los Angeles Times as the best young dancer in the Greater Los Angeles Area.[38]

Copeland attended the summer workshop at the San Francisco Ballet School in 1998.[7][23] She and Bradley selected the workshop over offers from the Joffrey Ballet, ABT and Dance Theater of Harlem.[12][39] Of the programs she auditioned for, only New York City Ballet declined to make her an offer.[39] San Francisco Ballet, ABT and New York City Ballet are regarded as the three preeminent classical ballet companies in the US.[2] During the six-week workshop at San Francisco, Copeland was placed in the most advanced classes[40] and was under a full-tuition plus expenses scholarship.[41] At the end of the workshop, she received one of the few offers to continue as a full-time student at the school. She declined the offer because of the encouragement from her mother to return home, the prospect of continuing personal training from the Bradley family and dreams of a subsequent summer with American Ballet Theatre.[42]

Custody battle

[edit]

Copeland returned to her mother's home, where the two frequently argued.[12] Her mother had long resented the Bradleys' influence[43] and soon decided that Copeland would cease study with the Bradleys.[12][23] Copeland was distraught with fear that she would not be able to dance.[5] She had heard the term emancipation while in San Francisco;[23] the procedure was common among young performers to secure their financial and residential independence.[12] The Bradleys introduced Copeland to Steven Bartell, a lawyer who explained the emancipation petition process.[12][23] The Bradleys encouraged her to be absent from home when the emancipation petition was delivered to her mother.[23] Copeland ran away from home for three days and stayed with a dance friend, while Bartell filed the emancipation papers.[5][23] After her mother reported Copeland missing, she was told about the emancipation petition.[23] Three days after running away, Copeland was returned to her mother by the police.[12][23] DelaCerna engaged lawyer Gloria Allred and applied for a series of restraining orders, which included the Bradleys' five-year-old son, who had been Copeland's roommate, and Bartell. The order was partly intended to preclude contact between the Bradleys and Copeland, but it did not have proper legal basis, since there had been no stalking and no harassment.[23]

The custody controversy was highly publicized in the press (especially Los Angeles Times and Extra),[23] starting in August and September 1998.[4][23] Parts of the press coverage spilled over into op-ed articles.[44] The case was heard in Torrance, in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. DelaCerna claimed that the Bradleys had brainwashed Copeland into filing suit for emancipation from her mother,[4][45][46] Allred claimed that the Bradleys had turned Copeland against her mother by belittling DelaCerna's intelligence.[45] The Bradleys noted that the management contract gave them authority over her career, but they stated that they would wait until Copeland became eighteen before seeking twenty percent of Copeland's earnings.[4][5]

The dismissal of the emancipation petition accomplished Sylvia's main goal of keeping the family bonds intact and strong, without interference by third parties. ... Another concern of Sylvia in filing a request for restraining orders was that she did not believe it was in Misty's best interest to have continuing contact with the Bradleys. In the sworn declarations filed by the Bradleys in response to the restraining order they said that "we have not and will never do anything to interfere with Misty's relationship with her mother." ... Since Sylvia has accomplished all of the goals that she intended to achieve when she filed her papers with the court we have chosen not to proceed to seek an injunction in this matter.

After DelaCerna stated that she would always make sure Copeland could dance, both the emancipation papers and restraining orders were dropped.[5] Copeland, who claimed she did not understand the term emancipation, withdrew the petition after informing the judge that such charges no longer represented her wishes.[28][38] Still, DelaCerna wanted the Bradleys out of her daughter's life.[38] Copeland re-enrolled at San Pedro High School for her junior year (1998–99), on pace to graduate with her original class of 2000.[7][44] DelaCerna sought Cantine's advice on finding a new ballet school.[47] Copeland began ballet study at Lauridsen Ballet Centre in Torrance with former ABT dancer Diane Lauridsen, although her dancing was now restricted to afternoons in deference to her schooling.[12][23] Late in 1998, all parties appeared on Leeza Gibbons' talk show, Leeza, where Copeland sat silently as the adults "bickered shamelessly".[23] As a student, Copeland had a 3.8/4.0 GPA through her junior year of high school.[44] In 2000, DelaCerna stated that Copeland's earnings from ballet were set aside in a savings account and only used as needed.[44]

American Ballet Theatre

[edit]

Early ABT career

[edit]

Copeland auditioned for several dance programs in 1999, and each made her an offer to enroll in its summer program.[12] She performed with ABT as part of its 1999 and 2000 Summer Intensive programs.[48] By the end of the first summer, she was asked to join the ABT Studio Company. Her mother insisted that she finish high school, and so Copeland returned to California for her senior year, even though ABT arranged to pay for her performances, housing accommodations and academic arrangements.[12][30] She studied at the Summer Intensive Program on full scholarship for both summers and was declared ABT's National Coca-Cola Scholar in 2000.[7] In the 2000 Summer Intensive Program, she danced the role of Kitri in Don Quixote.[48] Copeland's strongest memory from the summer is working with choreographer Twyla Tharp on Push Comes to Shove.[49] Of the 150 dancers in the 2000 Summer Intensive Program, she was one of six selected to join the junior dance troupe.[48]

In September 2000, she joined the ABT Studio Company, which is ABT's second company, and became a member of its Corps de ballet in 2001.[7][50] As part of the Studio Company, she performed the Pas de Deux in Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty.[51] Eight months after joining the company, she was sidelined for nearly a year by a lumbar stress fracture.[52] When Copeland joined the company, she weighed 108 pounds (49.0 kg) (she is 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 m) tall).[53] At age 19, her puberty had been delayed, a situation common in ballet dancers.[53][54] After the lumbar fracture, her doctor told her that inducing puberty would help to strengthen her bones, and he prescribed birth control pills. Copeland recalls that in one month she gained 10 pounds, and her small breasts swelled to double D-cup size: "Leotards had to be altered for me ... to cover my cleavage, for instance. I hated this sign that I was different from the others. ... I became so self-conscious that, for the first time in my life, I couldn't dance strong. I was too busy trying to hide my breasts."[53] Management noticed and called her in to talk about her body. The professional pressure to conform to conventional ballet aesthetics resulted in body image struggles and a binge eating disorder.[53][55] Copeland says that, over the next year, new friendships outside of ABT, including with Victoria Rowell and with her boyfriend, Olu Evans (now her husband), helped her to regain confidence in her body. She explained, "My curves became an integral part of who I am as a dancer, not something I needed to lose to become one. I started dancing with confidence and joy, and soon the staff at ABT began giving me positive feedback again. And I think I changed everyone's mind about what a perfect dancer is supposed to look like."[53][56] During her years in the corps, as the only black woman in the company, Copeland also felt the burden of her race in many ways and contemplated a variety of career choices.[57] Recognizing that Copeland's isolation and self-doubt were standing in the way of her talent, ABT's artistic director, Kevin McKenzie, asked writer and arts figure Susan Fales-Hill, then vice-chair of ABT's Board of Directors, to mentor Copeland. Fales-Hill introduced Copeland to black women trailblazers who encouraged Copeland and helped her to gain perspective.[58][59][30]

Early career reviews mentioned Copeland as more radiant than higher ranking dancers, and she was named to the 2003 class of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch".[60] In 2003, she was favorably reviewed for her roles as a member of the corps in La Bayadère and William Forsythe's workwithinwork.[61][62] Recognition continued in 2004 for roles in ballets such as Raymonda, workwithinwork,[63][64][65] Amazed in Burning Dreams,[66] Sechs Tänze, Pillar of Fire,[67] "Pretty Good Year", "VIII" and "Sinfonietta, where she "stood out in the pas de trois – whether she was gliding across the floor or in a full lift, she created the illusion of smoothness".[68] She also danced the Hungarian Princess in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.[69] The 2004 season is regarded as her breakthrough season.[63] She was included in the 2004 picture book by former ABT dancer Rosalie O'Connor titled Getting Closer: A Dancer's Perspective.[70] Also in 2004, she met her biological father for the first time and regretted that she had not done so sooner.[71]

In 2005, her most notable performance was a pas de deux in George Balanchine's Tarantella.[72] She also danced the Lead Polovtsian Girl in "Polovtsian Dances" from Prince Igor.[73] In 2006, she was acknowledged for her meticulous classical performance style in Giselle[74] and created a role in Jorma Elo's Glow–Stop.[75] Elo said: "Misty has the capability to absorb something extremely fast and then reproduce it exactly, and she gives such clarity to the material. If I were to make my own company, she would be the first one I would call."[30] That year, she also returned to Southern California to perform at Orange County Performing Arts Center[76] and danced one of the cygnets and reprised her role as the Hungarian Princess in Swan Lake in New York.[77] In both 2006 and 2007, Copeland danced the role of Blossom in James Kudelka's Cinderella.[78] Copeland's "old-style" performance continued to earn her praise in 2007.[8] In 2007, she danced the Fairy of Valor in The Sleeping Beauty.[79] Other roles that Copeland played before she was appointed a soloist by ABT included Twyla Tharp roles in In the Upper Room and Sinatra Suite as well as a role in Mark Morris's Gong.[80] A Dance Magazine feature stated that Copeland's "sublime rapport with her partners in ... Sinatra Suite has earned her the honor of dancing with the company's male superstars".[30]

Soloist

[edit]

Copeland was appointed a soloist at ABT in August 2007,[23] one of the youngest ABT dancers promoted to soloist.[81] Although she was described by early accounts as the first African American woman promoted to soloist for ABT,[6][25] Anne Benna Sims and Nora Kimball were soloists with ABT in the 1980s.[82][83][84][85] Male soloist Keith Lee also preceded her.[86] As of 2008, Copeland was the only African-American woman in the dance company during her entire ABT career. The only male African American in the company during her career, Danny Tidwell, left in 2005.[6][87] In an international ballet community with a lack of diversity,[88][89] she was so unusual as an African American ballerina that she endured cultural isolation.[90] She has been described in the press as the Jackie Robinson of classical ballet.[6]

Copeland was a standout among her peers.[91] In her first season as a soloist at New York City Center, in which avant-garde ballets works were performed, she received good notices in The New York Times for a Balanchine Ballo della Regina role.[92][93] Also in 2007, she created a leading role in C. to C. (Close to Chuck), choreographed by Jorma Elo to A Musical Portrait of Chuck Close, Études 2, 9 & 10, by Philip Glass.[94][95] Her performances of Tharp's works in the same season were recognized,[96][97] and she was described as more sophisticated and contemporary as a soloist than she had been as a corps dancer.[98] Her summer 2008 Metropolitan Opera House (the Met) season performances in Don Quixote and Sleeping Beauty were also well received.[99][100]

During the 2008–09 season, Copeland was praised for performances in Twyla Tharp's Baker's Dozen and Paul Taylor's Company B.[101][102] During the 2009 Spring ABT season at the Met, Copeland performed Gulnare in Le Corsaire and leading roles in Taylor's Airs and Balanchine's Pas de Deux from Swan Lake. Her 2008–09 Annenberg Fellowship included training for the Pas de Deux.[103][104] Late that year, she performed in ABT's first trip to Beijing at the new National Center for the Performing Arts.[105] In 2009, Copeland created a role in Aszure Barton's One of Three.[106]

In 2010, after recovering from a stress fracture,[30] Copeland performed in Birthday Offering at the Met[107] and at the Guggenheim Museum danced to David Lang's music.[108][109] She also created the Spanish Dance in ABT artist-in-residence Alexei Ratmansky's new version of The Nutcracker, premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.[110] In early 2011, she was well received at the Kennedy Center as the Milkmaid in Ratmansky's The Bright Stream, a remake of a banned comic ballet.[111] In Black History Month in 2011, Copeland was selected by Essence as one of its 37 Boundary-breaking black women in entertainment.[112] That same month, she toured with Company B, performed at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London.[113] In May, she created a role in Ratmansky's Dumbarton, danced to Stravinsky's chamber concerto, Dumbarton Oaks. Alastair Macaulay of The New York Times found the piece too intimate for the cavernous Met, but he noted: "Misty Copeland gives sudden hints of need and emotional bleakness in a duet ... too much is going on to explain itself at one viewing; but at once I know I'm emotionally and structurally gripped."[114] Her Summer 2011 ABT solos included the peasant pas de deux in Giselle[115] and, in Ratmansky's The Bright Stream at the Met in June, her reprise of the Milkmaid was called "luminous, teasingly sensual".[116][117] She reprised the Bright Stream role again in July at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles with a performance described as "sly".[118] As a flower girl, she was described as glittering in Don Quixote.[119] In August, she performed at the Vail International Dance Festival in the Gerald Ford Amphitheater in Vail, Colorado.[120] In November, she danced in Taylor's Black Tuesday.[121]

In 2012, Copeland began achieving solo roles in full-length standard repertory ballets rather than works that were mostly relatively modern pieces.[29] A 2012 feature in Dance Magazine stated that Copeland's "classical repertoire ... has deepened in artistry with each season. In the peasant pas de deux from Giselle, she is buoyant and refreshingly lyrical, and her plush jumps in Swan Lake's pas de trois are a joy. As the Fairy of Valor in Sleeping Beauty, she tempers the harsh stabbing fingers and dagger-like pas de chats by uplifting her body with grandeur and, yes, valor."[30] She starred in The Firebird, with choreography by Ratmansky at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. It premiered on March 29, 2012. The performance was hailed by Laura Bleiberg in the Los Angeles Times as one of the year's best dance performances.[122] That year, Copeland was recognized by The Council of Urban Professionals as their Breakthrough Leadership Award winner.[123] She also danced the role of Gamzatti in La Bayadère at the Met to praise from Alastair Macaulay of The New York Times, who noted her "adult complexity and worldly allure".[124] The Firebird was again performed at the Met in June 2012, with Copeland set to alternate in the lead.[125][126][127] It was Copeland's first leading role at ABT.[126] Backstage described it as her "most prestigious part" to date.[128][129] After only one New York performance in the role, Copeland withdrew from the entire ABT season due to six stress fractures in her tibia. She was sidelined for seven months after her October surgery.[130]

Copeland in Coppélia in 2014

Upon her return to the stage, she danced the Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote in May 2013.[29] Nelson George began filming a documentary about her comeback.[131] Copeland reprised her role as Gulnare in June 2013 in the pirate-themed Le Corsaire.[132] She also played an Odalisque in the same ballet.[133] Later in the year, she danced in Tharp's choreography of Bach Partita for Violin No. 2 in D minor for solo violin,[134][135] and as Columbine in ABT's revival of Ratmansky's Nutcracker at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.[136][137]

In May 2014, Copeland performed the lead role of Swanilda in Coppélia at the Met.[138][139] According to Los Angeles Times writer Jevon Phillips, she is the first African American woman to dance the role.[140] The same month, she was praised in the dual role of Queen of the Dryads and Mercedes in Don Quixote by Brian Seibert of The New York Times, although Jerry Hochman of Critical Dance felt that she was not as impressive in the former role as in the latter.[141][142] Later in May, the Met staged a program of one-act ballets consisting of Theme and Variations, Duo Concertant and Gaîté Parisienne,[143] featuring Copeland in all three.[140] Siebert praised her work in Balanchine's Duo Concertant, to Igor Stravinsky's eponymous score for violin and piano performed by Benjamin Bowman and Emily Wong.[144] Of her Flower Girl in Gaîté Parisienne, Apollinaire Scherr of The Financial Times wrote that she "tips like a brimming watering can into the bouquets her wooers hold out to her".[145] Copeland was a "flawless" demi-soloist in Theme and Variations, according to Colleen Boresta of Critical Dance.[143]

In June 2014 at the Met, she danced the Fairy Autumn in the Frederick Ashton Cinderella, cited for her energetic exuberance in the role by Hochman, who missed the "varied texture and nuance that made it significantly more interesting" in the hands of ABT's Christine Shevchenko.[146] That month, she played Lescaut's Mistress in Manon in which role Marjorie Liebert of BroadwayWorld.com described her as "seductive and ingratiating".[147][148] Also in June, she performed the role of Gamzatti in La Bayadère.[149] Copeland performed the double role of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake in September when the company toured in Brisbane, Australia.[150][151] Her ascension to more prominent roles occurred as three ABT principal dancers (Paloma Herrera, Julie Kent and Xiomara Reyes) entered their final seasons before retirement.[152] In early October, Copeland performed several pieces including a principal role in Tharp's Bach Partita at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre.[153] In October, Copeland made her New York debut in one of the six principal roles in Tharp's Bach Partita[154] and created a role in Liam Scarlett's With a Chance of Rain.[155] That December, when ABT revived Ratmansky's Nutcracker at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Copeland played the role of Clara, the Princess.[156] The same month, at the Kennedy Center Honors, she was described as "sublime" in Tchaikovsky's Pas de Deux by the New York City CBS News affiliate.[157]

In March 2015, Copeland danced the role of Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California.[158] She made her American debut as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake with The Washington Ballet, opposite Brooklyn Mack as Prince Siegfried, in April at the Eisenhower Theater in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.[159] The performance was the company's first presentation of Swan Lake in its 70-year history.[160] In May 2015, she played Cowgirl in Rodeo,[161] Bianca in Othello[162] and Zulma in Giselle.[163] In June 2015, Copeland created the small role of the Fairy Fleur de farine (Wheat flower) in Ratmansky's The Sleeping Beauty.[164] The same month, she made her debut as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet on short notice a few days before her scheduled performance on June 20.[165]

Later in June, Copeland became the first black ballerina to dance Odette/Odile in Swan Lake at the Met.[166] Her performance in this "most epic role in world ballet"[167] had been anticipated as "a crowning achievement" in wide-ranging media outlets and by a broad spectrum of fans and supporters.[168][169] Copeland "was in command of her technique and had the capacity crowd of 4,000 cheering fans believing unreservedly in her ability to appear white swan vulnerable as much as black swan strong."[166] Pioneering dancers Raven Wilkinson and Lauren Anderson presented her with bouquets on stage.[167] Her performance, a critical success,[167][170] was viewed as a sign that her promotion to principal was forthcoming.[171]

Principal dancer

[edit]

On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African-American woman promoted to principal ballerina in ABT's 75-year history.[3][172] Copeland's achievement was groundbreaking, as there have been very few African-American principal ballerinas at major companies.[173] Debra Austin became a principal at Pennsylvania Ballet in 1982, and Lauren Anderson became a principal at Houston Ballet in 1990, the first black principal ballerinas at major American companies.[174][175] As one critic put it, "Ballet is one of the few art forms ... where discrimination based on colour is still widely practised as an expression of established aesthetics. ... [But] Copeland has the talent and the stage presence: big jumps, a supple arch and full wattage smile on top of tireless energy."[166] According to the 2015 documentary about Copeland, A Ballerina's Tale, until Copeland, "there [had] never been a Black female principal dancer at a major international company".[58]

Copeland played the role of Ivy Smith in the Broadway revival of On The Town for two weeks from August 25, 2015, to September 6.[176][177] Her debut on Broadway was favorably reviewed in The New York Times,[178] The Washington Post,[179] and other media.[180][181]

That October, in New York, Copeland performed in the revival of Tharp's choreography of the Brahms-Haydn Variations,[182] in Frederick Ashton's Monotones I,[183] and "brought a seductive mix of demureness and sex appeal to 'Rum and Coca-Cola'" in Paul Taylor's Company B.[184][30] The same month, she created the role of His Loss in AfterEffect by Marcelo Gomes, danced to Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence, at Lincoln Center.[185] When ABT brought Ratmansky's Nutcracker to Segerstrom Center for the Arts in December 2015, Copeland reprised the role of Clara.[186]

In January 2016, Copeland reprised the role of Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty at the Kennedy Center, choreographed by Ratmansky.[187] Her spring 2016 schedule also included leads in ABT productions of The Firebird, La Fille Mal Gardee, Le Corsaire, The Golden Cockerel, Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet.[58] In 2017, she appeared as a guest artist with La Scala Theatre Ballet when it visited Southern California.[188] In 2019, Copeland danced Harlequinade opposite Calvin Royal III in the roles of Pirrette and Pierrot, in a rare instance of a black couple dancing together in ballet.[189]

Copeland left the ABT stage after a back injury the same year, and she stayed away from live performances during the COVID-19 pandemic,[190][191] and while raising her son, born in 2022.[192] She retired from ABT in 2025 with a gala farewell performance.[9]

Other appearances, writings and ventures

[edit]

Other stage, television and film appearances

[edit]

In March 2009, Copeland filmed a music video with Prince for a cover of "Crimson and Clover", the first single from his 2009 album Lotusflower.[103][193] Prince asked her to dance along to the song in improvised ballet movements. She described his instructions as "Be you, feel the music, just move", and upon request for further instruction, "Keep doing what you're doing".[115] She also began taking acting lessons in 2009.[103] During the New York City and New Jersey portions of Prince's Welcome 2 America tour, Copeland performed a pas de deux en pointe to his song "The Beautiful Ones", the opening number at the Izod Center and Madison Square Garden.[194] Prince had previously invited her onstage at a concert in Nice, France.[195] In April 2011, she performed alongside Prince on the Lopez Tonight show, dancing to "The Beautiful Ones."[196]

Cover of Firebird, Copeland's 2014 children's book

In 2011, she was featured in the Season 1, episode 5 of the Hulu web series A Day in the Life.[197][198] Copeland was a guest judge for the 11th season of FOX's So You Think You Can Dance.[199] New Line Cinema has optioned her memoir, Life in Motion, for a screen adaptation,[200] and the Oxygen network has expressed interest in producing a reality docuseries about Copeland mentoring a Master Class of aspiring young dancers.[201][202]

A Ballerina's Tale, a documentary film about Copeland, debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2015[203] and was released in theaters in October 2015.[204] It was then aired in February 2016 as part of PBS' Independent Lens series.[205][206] Dawn Heinecken, a professor of women's studies at the University of Louisville, described the film as "part of a calculated media campaign designed to launch Copeland into mainstream celebrity", but stated that the film "directly [challenges] the ideology of white supremacy that undergirds the world of classical ballet."[207] Entertainment Weekly ranked it as one of the best "films that have captured the art of ballet".[208]

In May 2015, Copeland was featured on 60 Minutes in a segment with correspondent Bill Whitaker.[209][210] The following month, she served as a presenter at the 69th Tony Awards.[211] In July 2015, a black and white book, Misty Copeland: Power and Grace, was released by photographer Richard Corman, with an introduction by Cindy Bradley.[212] The book contains photographs of Copeland dancing at sunrise on and around a baby grand piano that washed ashore under the Brooklyn Bridge.[213][214] Copeland was included in the 2015 International Best Dressed List, published by Vanity Fair.[215] In October 2015, she performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert accompanied by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who played "Courante" from Bach's Cello Suite No. 2.[216]

In February 2016, Copeland and President Barack Obama were interviewed together in the first of a three part video series with Time and Essence magazines on topics of race, gender, achievement and creating opportunity for young people.[217][218] The same month, she walked the runway at New York Fashion Week to support the American Heart Association's "Go Red for Women" campaign to increase awareness of the dangers of heart disease for women.[219] She appeared in the March issue of Harper's Bazaar recreating Edgar Degas ballerina poses in a photospread ahead of a Museum of Modern Art exhibition: "Edgar Degas: A Strange New Beauty".[220] The feature was favorably noted by several media outlets,[221] but Sebastian Smee of The Boston Globe argued that contemporary ballet performers take Degas' ballet-themed work too seriously.[222]

Copeland's first book

Copeland dances the lead ballerina role in the 2018 Disney film, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, based on the 1816 story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King".[223] She also voiced herself on a 2016 episode of the animated TV series Peg + Cat, "The Dance Problem/Follow The Bouncing Ball".[224][225] In 2017, she appeared as a guest judge on World of Dance.[226] Copeland danced with Craig Hall during Taylor Swift's performance of her song "Lover" at the 2019 American Music Awards.[227][228] She also performed at the 2020 Grammy Awards.[citation needed] Copeland starred in and co-produced "Flower", a 2023 mostly nonverbal short film about the struggles of a fictional dance teacher caring for her disabled mother, as the family is threatened with homelessness. The film was directed by Lauren Finerman and choreographed by Alonzo King and Rich + Tone Talauega, with music by Raphael Saadiq. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival[229] and has been seen at other festivals.[230]

Ventures, writing and philanthropy

[edit]

In 2011, Copeland unveiled a line of dancewear, M by Misty, which she designed.[231] In 2016, she launched another dancewear line, Égal Dance, marketed as inclusive for all body types.[232] She has also produced celebrity calendars.[233] In 2022, she co-founded sports apparel label "Greatness Wins".[234]

Copeland released a memoir in 2014, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, co-authored by Charisse Jones.[235] Her 2014 children's picture book, titled Firebird, with illustrator Christopher Myers, has a message of empowerment for young people of color.[58][236] In 2017, Copeland released the book Ballerina Body, a health and fitness guide.[237] She released a children's book, Bunheads, in 2020,[238] and in 2021 she released Black Ballerinas: My Journey to Our Legacy.[239] In 2022, Copeland released another memoir, The Wind at My Back: Resilience, Grace, and Other Gifts from My Mentor, Raven Wilkinson, co-written with Susan Fales-Hill.[240]

Copeland co-founded a fundraiser, Swans for Relief, which compiled videos made in May 2020 by 32 ballerinas from 14 countries, including Copeland, dancing The Dying Swan. The resulting YouTube video raises funds for each dancer's company's COVID-19 relief fund, or other arts/dance-based relief funds, to alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dance community.[241] In 2022, she founded The Misty Copeland Foundation, which provides after-school programs for children, ages 8 to 10, that combine affordable ballet training, in the communities where they live, alongside health and wellness, musicianship, mentoring and general tutoring components.[242] The Foundation's goals are "to bring greater diversity, equity, and inclusion to dance ... by making ballet affordable, accessible, and fun."[243]

Endorsements

[edit]

Copeland was featured in T-Mobile's ads for the BlackBerry in 2010[244] and an ad for Dr. Pepper in 2013.[245] In 2013, she represented Coach, Inc. and became a spokesperson for Project Plié, a national initiative to broaden the pipeline of leadership within ballet.[246][247] She also became a brand ambassador for Seiko in 2015.[248] In 2016, Mattel created a Misty Copeland Barbie doll.[249] Later that year, the Dannon Company hired Copeland as a spokesperson for its Oikos brand.[250][251]

In 2014, Copeland became a sponsored athlete for Under Armour,[252] which paid her more than her ballet career.[253] Her Under Armour women-focused ad campaign was widely publicized,[254][255][256] and resulted in her being named an ABC World News Person of the week.[257] The ad campaign was recognized by Adweek as one of The 10 Best Ads of 2014 and as "The year's best campaign targeting women".[258] Copeland, along with Steph Curry and Jordan Spieth, was credited with boosting demand for Under Armour products.[259] In February 2017, Copeland debuted her own collection of activewear for Under Armour. Shortly afterwards, she criticized statements by Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank that praised Donald Trump, stressing that her sponsors should believe in the "importance of diversity and inclusion".[260][261] Plank responded in an open letter to the Baltimore Sun to state that he supports "a diverse and inclusive America".[262] In July 2017, Under Armour launched a digital ad campaign featuring Copeland,[263] and at the end of that month she became the spokesperson for an Estée Lauder fragrance.[264][265] W called her Estée Lauder campaign groundbreaking because cosmetics companies have rarely employed spokespersons other than models.[266] In 2021, she was engaged by Ford to promote the Mustang Mach-E online.[267] To help promote the release of the 2025 film Wicked: For Good, Copeland danced, as Cynthia Erivo sang, in a "reimagined" video version of the song "No Good Deed".[268][269]

Honors

[edit]

In 2008, Copeland won the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Arts, which funds study with master teachers and trainers outside of ABT.[270][30] The two-year fellowships are in recognition of "young artists of extraordinary talent with the goal of providing them with additional resources in order to fully realise their potential".[271] In 2013, she was named National Youth of the Year Ambassador by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.[212] In 2014, Copeland was named to the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition[272] and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hartford for her contributions to classical ballet and helping to diversify the art form.[273][274] Copeland was a Dance Magazine Awards 2014 honoree.[275] After her promotion as principal dancer, Copeland was named one of Glamour's Women of the Year for 2015;[276][277] one of ESPN's 2015 Impact 25 athletes and influencers who have made the greatest impact for women in sports;[278] by Barbara Walters, one of the 10 "most fascinating" people of 2015,[279] and one of the Time 100. As a result, Copeland appeared on the cover of Time, making her the first dancer on the cover since Bill T. Jones in 1994.[280][281] In 2016, Copeland won a Shorty Award for Best in Dance in Social Media.[282][283]

In 2021, the NAACP awarded to Copeland its highest honor, the Spingarn Medal.[284] On May 17, 2023, Copeland received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from New York University.[285]

Personal life

[edit]

Copeland enjoys cooking.[286] She and her husband, attorney Olu Evans, live on Manhattan's Upper West Side.[29][287] The couple disclosed their engagement in a 2015 cover story in Essence magazine.[288] They married in California on July 31, 2016.[289] They have one child, a son, who was born in 2022.[290][291]

Published works

[edit]
  • Copeland, Misty; with Charisse Jones (2014). Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina. New York: Touchstone Books, published by Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4767-3798-0. OCLC 852226309.
  • Copeland, Misty (2014). Firebird: Ballerina Misty Copeland Shows a Young Girl How to Dance Like the Firebird. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0-399-16615-0. OCLC 881386397.
  • Copeland, Misty (2015). Misty Copeland: Power and Grace. Photographs by Richard Corman. New York: Michael Friedman Group. ISBN 978-0692493236. OCLC 915488693.
  • Copeland, Misty; with Charisse Jones (2017). Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating Your Way to a Leaner, Stronger, and More Graceful You. New York: Grand Central Life & Style. ISBN 978-1455596300. OCLC 953598345.
  • Glass, Calliope (2018). The Dance of the Realms. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Introduction by Misty Copeland; illustrated by Marco Bucci. Los Angeles: Disney Press. ISBN 978-1368020367. OCLC 1044565014.
  • Copeland, Misty (2020). Bunheads. Illustrated by Setor Fiadzigbey. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0399547645. OCLC 1137745453.
  • Copeland, Misty (2021). Black Ballerinas: My Journey to Our Legacy. New York: Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0692493236. OCLC 1237349801.
  • Copeland, Misty; with Susan Fales-Hill (2022). The Wind at My Back: Resilience, Grace, and Other Gifts from My Mentor, Raven Wilkinson. New York: Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1538753859. OCLC 1303671778.

See also

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References

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Misty Copeland

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from Grokipedia
Misty Danielle Copeland (born September 10, 1982) is an American dancer who rose to prominence as a principal with (ABT), becoming the first African American woman promoted to that rank in the company's then-75-year history in June 2015, a position she maintained until her retirement following a farewell gala on October 22, 2025. Raised in San Pedro, , by a single mother amid a challenging environment that included a publicized custody dispute with her ballet instructor at age 16, Copeland began intensive training unusually late at age 13 with the San Pedro City Ballet. Her rapid ascent at ABT—joining the studio company in 2000, the in 2001, and achieving soloist status in 2007 as only the second African American woman to do so—defied conventional paths in , where early training from childhood is normative due to the physical demands and technical precision required. Copeland's defining achievements include pioneering performances in lead roles such as Odette/Odile in (the first by an African American woman at ABT in 2014), the title role in Firebird (2012), and Kitri in , alongside awards like the 2008 Fellowship in the Arts and the 2014 Dance Magazine Award. Her career highlighted tensions in ballet's Eurocentric aesthetic traditions, including scrutiny over her muscular physique, which deviated from the archetype of elongated, slender lines prized for classical roles, yet enabled her technical prowess in dynamic parts. Beyond the stage, Copeland authored the memoir Life in Motion: An Unlikely Hero (2014), detailing her improbable trajectory, and advocated for diversity in through initiatives like the Misty Copeland Foundation, though her prominence also drew debate over whether her promotion emphasized racial milestones over merit amid ballet's rigorous, merit-based hierarchy. Her 2025 retirement marks the end of a tenure that expanded visibility for non-traditional entrants but underscored persistent structural barriers in the field, where empirical data on dancer demographics show underrepresentation of persisting despite such breakthroughs.

Early Life and Family Challenges

Childhood in San Pedro

Misty Copeland was born on September 10, 1982, in , to Sylvia DelaCerna, an Italian-American and African-American woman, and Doug Copeland, her biological father who maintained minimal involvement in her life. She grew up as one of six siblings in total, including three full siblings from her mother's second marriage and two half-siblings from later unions, amid a household marked by her mother's successive marriages to multiple partners, which contributed to ongoing familial disruption. These relationships introduced various stepfathers, fostering an environment of frequent upheaval rather than stability. The family experienced repeated relocations across states, ultimately settling in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, where Copeland spent much of her childhood. Socioeconomic hardship defined this period, with the household often plunging into ; at times, Copeland, her mother, and siblings shared a single room for extended stays, reflecting acute housing insecurity and financial strain. Such conditions, driven by inconsistent paternal support and maternal efforts to sustain the family through serial partnerships, exposed the children to a precarious existence that lacked reliable routines or resources. Prior to structured physical pursuits, Copeland displayed an innate affinity for movement, teaching herself backflips in the yard and improvising routines to , such as songs by , without formal instruction in or . Her family emphasized athletic activities like , aligning with a broader interest in physical expression amid the surrounding instability, which empirical accounts suggest cultivated an early drive for personal discipline as a counter to external chaos.

Introduction to Ballet

Copeland first encountered in 1995 at the age of 13 during a class offered at the San Pedro Boys & Girls Club, where she initially hesitated due to shyness but soon participated, demonstrating an innate aptitude by quickly grasping foundational techniques such as pliés and tendus without prior exposure. This self-initiated engagement marked her entry into the discipline, driven by personal curiosity rather than formal encouragement, amid a context where most aspiring professionals begin rigorous training in early childhood, often by ages 5 to 7, to develop the requisite and flexibility. Her rapid progress in basics highlighted exceptional natural coordination and athleticism, attributes that compensated for the structural disadvantages of a late onset in a field demanding years of cumulative precision and endurance. Under the guidance of local instructor Cynthia Bradley at the San Pedro Dance Center, Copeland received focused training that emphasized classical technique alongside elements, with Bradley providing a full after just weeks of observation to support her potential. Bradley's regimen, informed by her own background in both and modern forms, prioritized daily barre work and floor exercises to build Copeland's strength and alignment, fostering a disciplined routine that accelerated her skill acquisition despite the physical rigors of catching up. This underscored causal factors in her early development—consistent practice and targeted correction—over innate predisposition alone, as evidenced by Copeland's ability to perform increasingly complex combinations within months. By 1997, at age 15, Copeland's proficiency earned her the Spotlight Award as the top dancer in , a competitive honor recognizing technical merit and artistry among regional talents, which validated her accelerated trajectory and facilitated exposure to advanced workshops. This achievement, against the backdrop of ballet's emphasis on early specialization, illustrated how her physical gifts—such as hypermobility and —combined with relentless enabled breakthroughs typically unattainable for late starters, setting the stage for broader validation without reliance on institutional pipelines. In 1998, at age 15, Misty Copeland became embroiled in a custody dispute in Torrance , , between her mother, Sylvia DelaCerna, and her ballet instructor Bradley, along with Bradley's husband Patrick. DelaCerna, who had permitted Copeland to live and train with the Bradleys since age 13 to facilitate intensive practice, sought to end the arrangement, filing multiple restraining orders against the couple and alleging they had brainwashed her daughter into seeking . Copeland, fearing restrictions on her training, filed a petition for from her mother's custody, a step encouraged by the Bradleys amid concerns that DelaCerna's unstable home life—marked by frequent moves and financial hardship—would hinder her progress. The proceedings drew media attention, highlighting tensions over Copeland's welfare and career priorities, with Bradley arguing that returning her to DelaCerna's care would jeopardize her potential as a prodigy. By early September 1998, DelaCerna withdrew her requests, and Copeland retracted her petition, leading both parties to drop all legal actions. Copeland returned to live with her mother and siblings, severing ties with the Bradleys and switching to training at another studio under new instructors, which temporarily disrupted but ultimately did not halt her development. The dispute exacerbated family strains, as DelaCerna harbored resentment toward the Bradleys' influence, yet Copeland maintained ongoing contact with her siblings and later reflected that the ordeal fostered her resilience and self-reliance without derailing her commitment to dance. In interviews, she described the public exposure as emotionally taxing, noting it amplified scrutiny on her during a formative period.

Ballet Training and Early Career

Training at San Francisco Ballet School

In 1999, at age 16, Copeland attended the summer intensive program at the School on a full covering tuition, housing, and living expenses, marking her first exposure to professional-level pre-professional training. The program emphasized Vaganova-based classical technique, including rigorous daily classes in barre work, center adagio, allegro, and pointe, aimed at refining alignment, strength, and precision essential for 's demands. This intensive built on her prior informal training, exposing foundational gaps from starting at 13 rather than the typical age of 5–8, such as underdeveloped hip turnout and leg extensions, which require years of gradual muscle adaptation and skeletal alignment. Following the 1999 summer session, Copeland relocated to in early 2000 for year-round enrollment at the school, supported by continued scholarship funding, to pursue uninterrupted daily training of 6–8 hours. However, this period lasted only several months before her mother's intervention amid ongoing custody disputes forced her return to , limiting the duration but solidifying habits of compensatory practice—like targeted hip-opening exercises and flexibility drills—to address her late-start deficits in turnout (external hip rotation) and extensions (leg elevation). During training, she endured physical strains common to accelerated regimens, including from repetitive impact on underdeveloped lower legs, managed through rest, taping, and gradual conditioning to prevent chronic injury. Copeland participated in competitions during this phase to benchmark progress, winning first place in the classical category at the 2000 National High School Dance Competition, which required variations from ballets like or to demonstrate technical control under scrutiny. These events reinforced the school's focus on competition preparation, honing her ability to execute clean pirouettes, jumps, and port de bras despite physique-related challenges, such as building upper-body strength for partnering absent in her earlier self-taught phase. The rigorous curriculum, while accelerating her skills, underscored causal limits of late entry: innate anatomical factors like natural hip socket orientation demand disproportionate effort to approximate elite standards, a reality she addressed through persistent, anatomy-informed corrections rather than innate predisposition.

Entry into American Ballet Theatre

Copeland joined 's Studio Company, then known as ABT II, in September 2000 at the age of 17. This affiliation followed intensive summer workshops with ABT and marked her transition from regional training to a professional track within one of the world's leading companies. In April 2001, she advanced to the of ABT's main company, performing ensemble roles in classical and contemporary repertory during the company's spring seasons at the House and fall tours. Her entry at a relatively late age—having begun serious training only four years prior—highlighted an accelerated trajectory uncommon in the field, where dancers typically enter elite programs by their early teens. By 2006, Copeland had begun dancing featured roles, building toward her promotion to soloist the following year.

Professional Career at American Ballet Theatre

Apprenticeship and Corps de Ballet

In September 2000, following two summer workshops with (ABT), Copeland joined the company's Studio Company, a training ensemble serving as a bridge to the professional ranks. She advanced to the ABT in April 2001, entering a hierarchical structure where dancers perform ensemble roles emphasizing synchronized precision and visual uniformity to support principal artists and maintain balletic illusions of ethereal collectivity. The demands physical conformity, as deviations in build, height, or line can fracture the intended homogeneity essential for formations in classical repertory; Copeland's athletic, muscular physique—contrasting the genre's preference for elongated, lean frames—complicated seamless integration, requiring heightened technical discipline to align with peers. Her shorter stature at approximately 5 feet 2 inches further amplified these adaptation challenges within a merit-driven environment where proficiency in blending determines reliability for high-stakes performances. During her corps tenure, Copeland danced in ensemble sections of core repertory works, including , where she contributed to group dynamics amid the company's seasonal demands. She also appeared in supporting roles in ballets such as and , honing endurance through repetitive rehearsals that prioritized faultless replication over individual expression. Injuries, including early stress fractures and shin issues, periodically interrupted her progress, underscoring the physical toll of corps rigor on a developing body unaccustomed to ballet's unyielding standards. Copeland's standout technical attributes—such as powerful jumps and expressive musicality—occasionally drew internal notice despite the corps' emphasis on , illustrating how exceptional merit could emerge amid pressures, though critiques of her non-traditional form persisted as barriers to effortless assimilation. This phase tested her resilience in a system valuing empirical performance metrics over external factors, where survival hinged on consistent execution rather than accommodation.

Promotion to Soloist

American Ballet Theatre announced on July 5, 2007, the promotion of Misty Copeland to soloist, along with Kristi Boone, Yuriko Kajiya, , and Jared Matthews, recognizing her development since joining the in 2001. This step followed evaluations of her class work, rehearsals, and performances in supporting roles, aligning with ABT's process of advancing dancers based on demonstrated technical proficiency and artistic contribution rather than external quotas. In her soloist tenure, Copeland tackled demanding roles that showcased her evolving technique, including the title character in Alexei Ratmansky's 2012 production of Firebird, where she executed intricate jumps and partnering sequences requiring precise elevation and stamina. Her work in such pieces reflected growth in handling virtuosic demands, with critics noting improvements in line and musicality over time, comparable to peers like who advanced similarly through consistent audition successes. A pivotal 2012 performance of Firebird ended abruptly when Copeland fractured her in six places—three nearly complete breaks—leading to and an extended recovery that emphasized the biomechanical stresses of elite on the body. This hiatus, lasting months of intensive rehabilitation, underscored the physical resilience required for sustained soloist-level output, yet she returned to perform, bolstering her case through empirical recovery and subsequent stage reliability.

Rise to Principal Dancer

On June 30, 2015, Misty Copeland was promoted to at the (ABT), becoming the first African American woman to reach this rank in the company's then-75-year history. This elevation followed her entry into ABT's in April 2001, after initial training in the Studio Company starting in September 2000, and her advancement to soloist in 2007, representing approximately 14 years of progressive experience within the organization. The promotion came after Copeland's performances in prominent roles, including the lead in during ABT's spring 2015 season at the Metropolitan Opera House, which showcased her interpretive strengths in classical repertoire amid ongoing physical challenges like stress fractures. Her tenure included consistent casting in demanding parts, providing artistic justification for the advancement under Kevin McKenzie, who had overseen multiple promotions that year. However, the timing aligned with intensified media and public focus on diversity in , following Copeland's rising profile through her 2014 memoir Life in Motion and campaigns, which amplified calls for representational change in a field historically dominated by Eurocentric aesthetics. Mainstream coverage, including from outlets like and , framed the event primarily as a historic racial breakthrough, generating widespread publicity for ABT but potentially overshadowing nuanced evaluations of readiness. Within specialized discourse, including commentary from ballet professionals and observers, questions arose about whether external cultural pressures for inclusion influenced the decision alongside her longevity and roles, or if pure merit—defined by technical precision and stamina in principal duties—sufficed independently. These discussions highlighted tensions between institutional imperatives for and traditional standards of excellence, though ABT emphasized internal assessments. Mainstream sources, often aligned with progressive narratives, largely omitted such scrutiny, prioritizing the milestone over causal analysis of promotion criteria.

Signature Roles and Performances

Copeland's tenure as principal dancer from June 2015 onward featured lead roles across the (ABT) repertoire, including debuts at the Metropolitan Opera House. Her performances emphasized dramatic expressiveness in classical ballets, with notable endurance amid prior injuries such as six tibia stress fractures sustained during a 2012 Firebird appearance. Key roles included Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, marking her New York debut in the dual role on June 24, 2015, as the first African American woman to perform it at the Met. She originated the lead in Alexei Ratmansky's Firebird in 2012 prior to her principal promotion and reprised it in subsequent seasons. Earlier, in April 2014, she debuted as Odette/Odile with the Washington Ballet in a guest capacity. Copeland portrayed in Kenneth MacMillan's , including a June 20, 2015, matinee at ABT and a 2017 guest performance at with . She danced Nikiya in during ABT seasons and Swanilda in in May 2014. Additional principal assignments encompassed , The Sleeping Beauty, , and .
BalletRoleKey Performance Details
Swan LakeOdette/OdileMet debut, June 2015; Washington Ballet guest, April 2014
FirebirdTitle roleOriginated 2012; reprised post-promotion
Romeo and JulietJulietABT matinee June 2015; La Scala 2017
La BayadèreNikiyaABT seasons, including 2020 excerpts
CoppéliaSwanildaLead, May 2014
Beyond ABT, Copeland appeared at the 2017 , performing a tribute to with Robert Fairchild in a from Tchaikovsky. Her international engagements included the Vail International Dance Festival in 2015. These roles, spanning over two dozen principal assignments, highlighted her peak activity from 2015 to 2020.

Retirement from Performing

In June 2025, Copeland announced her retirement from performing with after 25 years with the company, stating, "It's been 25 years at ABT, and I think it's time." She cited her age of 43, the accumulation of injuries—including a recent labral tear and prior stress fractures in her that required surgical intervention—as factors limiting her ability to continue at the principal level. Copeland expressed readiness for new pursuits beyond the physical demands of daily rehearsals and performances, describing the decision as a release rather than an abrupt end. Her final performance occurred on October 22, 2025, during ABT's Fall Gala at the in New York, featuring the Act I Balcony from . The event drew notable attendees including and marked Copeland's farewell bow as ABT's first and, to date, only Black female in its 85-year history. Following retirement, Copeland plans to emphasize advocacy for diversity in , authorship, and entrepreneurial ventures, building on her prior efforts to promote inclusion without immediate involvement in directing productions. Her tenure elevated visibility for dancers empirically through personal success and public initiatives, yet ABT's roster shows no subsequent Black female principal promotion, raising questions about sustained institutional shifts beyond symbolic representation.

Technique, Style, and Critical Reception

Technical Strengths and Innovations

Copeland's technical profile features a robust athletic foundation, marked by strong core control that facilitates precise execution of complex turns and jumps. This physical capacity enabled her rapid progression despite commencing training at age 13, a timing deemed late by professional standards, through innate aptitude for memorizing and replicating movement sequences. Her background in and track prior to ballet contributed to this resilient athleticism, allowing her to build the endurance and power essential for demanding . Critics have highlighted Copeland's emotional depth and dramatic expressiveness, particularly in narrative-driven roles such as , where her exuberance and joy in movement conveyed palpable storytelling. This aptitude for distinguishes her performances, infusing classical steps with layers of finesse and authentic emotional conveyance, as observed in her interpretations of characters requiring nuanced psychological portrayal. Her stage presence amplifies these qualities, fostering audience engagement through visible relish in the physicality of . Copeland demonstrated versatility across stylistic registers, excelling in contemporary and neoclassical works by choreographers like , where she reported heightened comfort and confidence in executing hybrid movements blending precision with modern dynamism. In Tharp's s, her adaptability to innovative phrasing and rhythmic complexity showcased an ability to integrate athletic vigor with balletic line, contributing to successful revivals and premieres at . This range extended to neoclassical demands, evident in her expressive extensions and timing during solo passages. Her innovations lie in pioneering a hybrid athletic-expressiveness paradigm within , leveraging late-entry athleticism to redefine viability for non-traditional entrants and influencing contemporary choreography's emphasis on versatile, narrative-driven physicality over rigid classical conformity. By excelling in roles that fused dramatic depth with powerful execution, such as in Firebird, Copeland expanded 's technical lexicon to accommodate broader somatic potentials, evidenced by her sustained principal status and choreographer collaborations.

Criticisms of Technique and Physique

Critics have pointed to limitations in Copeland's classical technique, particularly in achieving the precision and fluidity demanded by roles like in . In her June 2015 debut as Odette/ with , New York Times chief dance critic Alastair Macaulay observed that while Copeland conveyed emotional depth as Odette, her lacked the requisite dazzle, attack, and technical security, with her 32 fouetté turns executed unevenly and without full control. Macaulay further described her overall approach as admirable yet lacking striking individuality, suggesting it fell short of the standards for such dual roles in the classical repertory. Copeland's physique, characterized by a more muscular and voluptuous build at 5 feet 2 inches with relatively shorter legs and fuller bust and hips, has been critiqued for diverging from the Balanchine-influenced of elongated, lean lines essential for ethereal projection and uniformity in neoclassical and romantic ballets. This frame, while athletically powerful, can disrupt the visual homogeneity required in ensemble work, where dancers must blend seamlessly, and challenges the illusion of weightlessness in adagio sections or high extensions. Dance observers have noted that such proportions, combined with her late start in at age 13, contribute to persistent tensions in épaulement and hyperextension control, hindering the epauled precision of purest . Her injury history underscores biomechanical strains potentially tied to these physical attributes. In 2012, during preparations for , Copeland sustained six tibial stress fractures—three nearing complete breaks—necessitating and a plate insertion, which she later attributed partly to imbalances in muscle development from inadequate early training. Earlier, in 2001 shortly after joining ABT, she fractured a during rehearsal, prompting directives to strengthen her core and adjust her form to mitigate stress on her denser skeletal structure. Critics and analysts have linked recurrent lower-leg and back issues to the demands of and pointe work on a more compact, muscular physique, which may amplify and impact forces compared to the lithe builds optimized for elite longevity in classical companies.

Debates on Merit Versus Diversity Promotion

Copeland's promotion to on June 30, 2015, after 14 years with —beginning as an apprentice in 2000 and advancing through the and soloist ranks—has been cited by supporters as evidence of meritocratic achievement through persistent effort and competitive auditions. However, critics within the ballet community have argued that her elevation reflected external pressures for diversity representation rather than unqualified technical mastery, pointing to accommodations in that omitted demanding steps she struggled with, such as certain virtuosic variations, to facilitate her success in major roles. This debate intensified amid the 2015 cultural emphasis on racial inclusion in classical arts, coinciding with broader institutional pushes during the Obama administration for demographic parity in elite fields traditionally dominated by European physiques and training pipelines. Skeptics, including dance commentators, contended that prioritizing symbolic breakthroughs risked diluting performance standards, as Copeland's more compact build and muscular development—while enabling expressive power—deviated from the elongated lines and ethereal fragility prized in classical ballet, potentially influencing her slower progression relative to peers promoted earlier despite comparable or superior technique. Such views were echoed in online ballet forums, where practitioners questioned whether publicity and narrative appeal, rather than consistent execution of principal-level feats like flawless 32 fouetté turns, drove the decision. Empirical patterns post-promotion bolster arguments against a purely merit-driven or sustainable diversity model: ABT has not elevated another female dancer to principal since 2015, leaving the company without any upon Copeland's in October 2025, despite ongoing efforts. This gap suggests her ascent was anomalous, tied to unique media momentum rather than systemic reform yielding repeatable outcomes, raising causal questions about whether genetic and physiological factors inherent to excellence—such as extreme turnout, hyperextension, and limb proportions—persist as barriers irrespective of promotional incentives. Proponents counter that her breakthrough validated overcoming such hurdles through grit, yet the absence of successors underscores tensions between representational goals and the form's unforgiving biomechanical demands.

Advocacy, Diversity Efforts, and Controversies

Public Statements on Racial Barriers in Ballet

In a August 6, 2020, interview with Yahoo Finance, Copeland described the ballet industry as "extremely behind" on racial justice, emphasizing persistent racism and inequality despite some progress. She highlighted practices like the continued use of blackface in certain productions as evidence of stagnation, attributing this to a lack of historical acknowledgment of Black contributions to ballet. Copeland has repeatedly addressed the scarcity of Black dancers in professional companies, noting that she was the only Black woman in the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) corps for her first decade there, from 2001 to around 2011. This empirical rarity underscores her point: prior to her 2015 promotion as the first Black female principal at ABT, Black women held fewer than 1% of principal roles across major U.S. ballet companies, with ABT having no such precedent in its 75-year history. In a March 2024 CNN interview with , Copeland invoked "generational trauma" among Black ballerinas, stemming from decades of messaging that their race and physique disqualified them from classical roles like . She linked this to inadequate curricula that omit Black dancers' histories, which she experienced as a student lacking resources on predecessors like . Copeland extended her critique beyond race to body diversity, arguing that ballet's narrow ideals exclude varied physiques regardless of ethnicity, though her own muscular build—similar to some white principals—faced scrutiny for deviating from the traditional sylph-like form. While Copeland's visibility has correlated with increased applications from and diverse aspiring dancers to programs like ABT's, data indicate limited improvement in retention rates, with representation in U.S. companies hovering below 6% as of 2013 and principal-level advancement remaining exceptional. Her statements frame these barriers as systemic, rooted in aesthetic uniformity demands that prioritize visual homogeneity over technical merit alone.

Initiatives for Inclusion and Philanthropy

In 2021, Copeland established the Misty Copeland Foundation to advance access to training for underserved communities, emphasizing through targeted programs. The foundation's flagship initiative, BE BOLD, launched in 2022 as a free after-school program for children aged 5–12 from marginalized backgrounds, primarily in , drawing inspiration from Copeland's own early experiences at a Boys & Girls Club. The 12-week curriculum focuses on introductory techniques, live music, , and holistic development, aiming to foster physical and cultural expression without the pressure of professional pathways. An internal evaluation of BE BOLD participants demonstrated gains in key developmental areas, including , , , , and appreciation for , as measured through pre- and post-program assessments. By 2025, the program had expanded to multiple sites, serving hundreds of youth annually via partnerships with community organizations, though long-term metrics on progression to advanced training remain limited in public reporting. In September 2025, the foundation introduced BE BOLDER, a ballet-based wellness program for adults aged 50 and older, prioritizing community reconnection, gentle movement, and emotional expression to promote lifelong engagement with . Copeland's philanthropic efforts extend to funding scholarships and subsidized classes through the foundation's Celebrating Misty Campaign, which supports operational costs and equipment for participants facing financial barriers. These initiatives have increased visibility of in underserved areas, with anecdotal reports of heightened among minority youth, though empirical data on sustained enrollment or career outcomes is primarily self-reported by the foundation. Critics of similar access programs note that while introductory exposure expands participation, deeper systemic challenges in talent identification and rigorous pipelines persist, potentially limiting scalable impact without complementary investments in early aptitude development.

Backlash Against DEI Narratives and Sustainability Questions

Critics have contended that media portrayals of Copeland's career often downplayed technical limitations in favor of emphasizing diversity milestones, framing skeptics as racially prejudiced rather than advocates for ballet's exacting standards. A 2021 analysis argued that such coverage misrepresented detractors, who focused on observable performance issues like inconsistent fouetté turns and a physique less suited to classical ballet's demands for extreme line and hyperextension, rather than inherent . These viewpoints gained traction amid broader questions about DEI initiatives' sustainability in elite arts, where post-2020 commitments to racial quotas faced retrenchment by 2025 due to empirical shortfalls in producing top-tier diverse talent. Copeland's announcement on June 9, 2025, and final performance on October 22, 2025, aligned with this shift, as arts organizations scaled back explicit diversity mandates amid political opposition and internal audits revealing limited progress beyond symbolic hires. The lack of an immediate successor groomed to principal level at post-Copeland highlighted causal realities of the discipline: elite attainment hinges on rare genetic traits—such as natural turnout, arch, and limb proportions—combined with training commencing by age 5-7, factors that create narrow pipelines irrespective of efforts. While narratives attributed underrepresentation to systemic , demographic persistence of few principals since Copeland's 2015 promotion suggests these biological and developmental prerequisites exert primary influence, as evidenced by unchanged elite-level ratios despite intensified inclusion programs. Mainstream sources advancing -centric explanations often overlook this, reflecting institutional biases toward ideological framing over physiological data.

Media, Ventures, and Cultural Impact

Film, Television, and Stage Appearances

Copeland made her Broadway debut on August 25, 2015, in the Tony-nominated revival of On the Town at the Lyric Theatre, taking on the role of Ivy Smith, an aspiring dancer featured as the fictional "Miss Turnstiles" of the month. The production, set in 1940s New York and scored by , showcased her in ballet sequences amid the musical's narrative of sailors on leave, marking a crossover from to commercial theater. In film, Copeland starred as the Ballerina Princess in Disney's The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018), a live-action adaptation where she performed a key ballet sequence revealing the realms' history to the protagonist Clara, partnering with dancer Sergei Polunin. She also served as the subject and narrator of the 2015 documentary A Ballerina's Tale, directed by Nelson George, which detailed her career trajectory, physical challenges like stress fractures, and the underrepresentation of Black dancers in major companies. On television, Copeland appeared as a guest judge and performer on So You Think You Can Dance in 2014, offering critiques during the Top 16 episode and demonstrating technique. She collaborated with Prince as a featured dancer, including live performances of "The " during his 2011-2014 tours and television spots like , blending with pop music to attract diverse viewers. These ventures, including the documentary's 78% approval and the Disney film's global release, expanded 's visibility to mainstream audiences beyond traditional venues.

Authored Works and Publications

Misty Copeland's memoir Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, published in December 2014, serves as an autobiographical account of her rise from a challenging childhood in San Pedro, California, marked by family instability and economic hardship, to at . The narrative emphasizes perseverance amid racial and socioeconomic barriers, mentorship's role, and personal sacrifices, including strained family dynamics and physical demands of training. It achieved New York Times bestseller status, enhancing her visibility beyond circles. In September 2014, Copeland released Firebird, her debut children's picture book illustrated by Christopher Myers, which allegorically follows a young, self-doubting girl mentored by a ballerina embodying the fiery, resilient spirit of role. The story promotes themes of self-belief, diligence, and overcoming limitations through effort, targeted at aspiring young dancers, particularly from underrepresented backgrounds. It garnered recognition as an Best Book of 2014 and an Amazon Best Book for ages 6-8. Copeland's 2017 publication Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating Your Way to a Leaner, Stronger, and More Graceful You shifts to prescriptive content, providing fitness routines, nutritional guidance, and mindset strategies derived from her training regimen to cultivate strength, posture, and holistic health. Emphasizing , mental resilience, and community support over restrictive dieting, the book advises readers on building a "long, toned, powerful body" adaptable to or general wellness. Reviews highlighted its motivational value for dancers and non-dancers alike, though it reflects her advocacy for inclusive physique ideals in a field historically favoring specific body types. These works collectively underscore perseverance and self-empowerment, with autobiographical elements in Life in Motion contrasting the instructional focus of Ballerina Body, while Firebird extends inspirational messaging to youth. Their commercial success, including rankings, amplified Copeland's role as a cultural figure, though some commentary links their prominence to narratives intersecting technique critiques in discourse.

Commercial Endorsements and Business Ventures

Copeland entered the commercial endorsement space prominently in 2014 when signed her as an ambassador, featuring her in the athletic apparel company's "I Will What I Want" campaign targeted at women, which highlighted her discipline as a metaphor for athletic perseverance. The multi-year deal positioned her alongside other athletes in 's marketing efforts, including video advertisements that garnered millions of views. This partnership concluded in 2019, after which confirmed the end of their association with the ballerina. In 2017, Estée Lauder appointed Copeland as the global spokesmodel for its Modern Muse fragrance, launching campaigns across print, television, digital, and in-store promotions that emphasized themes of empowerment and boundary-breaking. The following year, she collaborated with the brand on expanding shade ranges for its Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup foundation, addressing inclusivity in product formulation. Additional endorsements include partnerships with luxury handbag maker Coach, watchmaker , yogurt brand Dannon Oikos, and beverage companies Diet and Naked Juice, often tying her image to messages of resilience and healthy living. Beyond endorsements, Copeland has pursued business ventures through motivational speaking engagements, delivering keynotes on overcoming adversity and personal achievement to corporate and public audiences, with reported fees between $75,000 and $100,000 per appearance. These talks, managed by agencies like Washington Speakers Bureau, draw on her to inspire themes of discipline and innovation, contributing to her financial diversification outside performance income. Such endeavors underscore her strategic branding as an athlete-entrepreneur, though some ballet traditionalists have questioned whether extensive commercial ties risk commodifying the art form's aesthetic rigor.

Personal Life

Relationships and Marriage

Misty Copeland met Evans, a corporate attorney and cousin of , in 2004 at a nightclub in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood. The couple dated for a decade before marrying on July 31, 2016, in a private ceremony at the Montage Hotel in . Copeland and Evans have kept their relationship largely out of the public eye, with Evans avoiding social media and joint appearances. In April 2022, they welcomed their first child, a son named Jackson, whom Copeland announced publicly three months later. Jackson, now three years old as of 2025, joined his parents onstage during Copeland's retirement performance with American Ballet Theatre on October 22, 2025. Copeland has credited Evans with providing essential emotional and practical support throughout her career, enabling her to navigate the physical and professional demands of principal dancing into her forties. This stability, following her earlier family challenges, allowed sustained focus on high-level performance without public disclosure of personal strains.

Health Challenges and Injuries

Copeland experienced multiple stress fractures, including six in her incurred during a 2012 performance of , three of which were nearly complete breaks through the bone, necessitating surgical insertion of a metal plate and a seven-month recovery period. These injuries stemmed from the repetitive high-impact loads and hyperextended positions inherent to , which impose extreme stress on lower extremities; professional ballet dancers face annual injury rates of approximately 85%, with lower limb fractures comprising a significant portion due to the sport's demand for prolonged en pointe work and jumps. Earlier, at age 19, she suffered a stress fracture, further exemplifying how such microtrauma accumulates from insufficient bone adaptation to the discipline's biomechanical rigors. Her challenges were compounded by , which onset at age 19 and resulted in a 10-pound , altering her physique in a field where leanness is causally linked to reduced joint stress and optimal performance, though her naturally muscular build—less aligned with classical 's ectomorphic ideal—likely amplified vulnerability to overuse injuries. Starting training at age 13, later than the typical pre-pubertal onset for elite dancers, meant compressing foundational technique development into a shorter window, potentially heightening injury risk through accelerated exposure to advanced demands without proportional skeletal and muscular preconditioning. In 2019, another in her back occurred during preparations for , and by 2025, cumulative damage including a labral tear, spurs, and loss in her hips prompted her retirement after 25 years, as these irreversible changes impaired her ability to sustain professional-level training. Recovery efforts emphasized evidence-based interventions such as targeted nutrition to support —addressing ballet's caloric deficits that exacerbate fracture risk—and to restore and strength, enabling temporary returns to the stage but underscoring the causal irreversibility of repeated trauma in a high-volume environment averaging over 4 injuries per 1,000 hours. These issues highlight ballet's inherent physical toll, where empirical data indicate that late-maturing or atypically built dancers face elevated odds of chronic due to mismatched against standardized training protocols.

Honors, Awards, and Legacy

Major Recognitions

In 2014, Copeland received the Dance Magazine Award, one of dance journalism's highest honors, presented to six exceptional artists for their contributions to the field, including her performances and influence within (ABT). This recognition emphasized her artistic achievements amid broader discussions of her barrier-breaking presence, though critics noted it partly reflected cultural impact rather than unchallenged technical dominance among peers. On April 16, 2015, Time magazine included Copeland in its annual TIME 100 list of the most influential people worldwide, highlighting her role in expanding ballet's visibility and diversity, particularly as the first African American woman promoted to principal dancer at ABT on June 30 of that year—a merit-based advancement tied to her audition performances and repertoire mastery. The ABT promotion followed years of soloist roles, evaluated on technical proficiency in classics like Swan Lake and Giselle, yet public accolades often amplified her representational significance over comparative virtuosity debates in ballet circles. In 2021, the awarded Copeland its , the organization's highest honor for distinguished achievement by an African American, citing her career milestones and for inclusion in . This prize, established in 1914, recognizes sustained excellence across fields, aligning with Copeland's crossover appeal in media and , though it drew from institutional criteria prioritizing societal contributions alongside professional records. Additional honors include the 2008 Leonore Annenberg Fellowship for emerging artists demonstrating exceptional talent and the 2013 Black Girls Rock! Young, Gifted & Black award for cultural inspiration. In 2023, she received the Trailblazer Icon Award at The , acknowledging her pioneering status in arts and entertainment. These awards collectively underscore recognitions blending merit in performance with broader influence, as evaluated by panels from dance publications, media outlets, and civil rights bodies.

Long-Term Influence on Ballet and Broader Culture

Copeland's prominence has correlated with modest increases in Black participation in training and entry-level positions, particularly through youth outreach programs inspired by her example, such as those supported by the Misty Copeland Foundation, which provides scholarships and access to underrepresented girls. However, systemic representation at elite levels remains negligible; as of 2025, Black dancers comprise only 6.7% of main-company rosters in the 26 highest-budget U.S. companies, far below proportional population benchmarks, with Black principals still exceedingly rare across major institutions like , where Copeland remains the solitary historical precedent in its 85-year history. These figures indicate short-term inspirational effects on but no fundamental restructuring of professional pipelines, constrained by ballet's unforgiving physical prerequisites—including extreme , hyperextension, and skeletal proportions—that demand initiation by age 5-7 and exhibit partial genetic determinism, limiting scalability regardless of diversity initiatives. In broader culture, Copeland's media engagements and narrative as a barrier-breaker have elevated ballet's visibility beyond traditional audiences, fostering perceptions of the discipline as more accessible and symbolically inclusive, with her story cited in popular discourse as redefining archetypes through strength and resilience rather than fragility alone. This has arguably sustained amid declining , yet critiques from within circles highlight risks of conflating representational symbolism with technical excellence; Copeland herself acknowledged pressures where perceived lapses in "artistic excellence" could jeopardize future opportunities for dancers, underscoring tensions between meritocratic standards and equity-driven symbolism. Post-2023 trends reflect growing toward DEI frameworks in , with broader institutional "DEI fatigue" manifesting as backlash against perceived overemphasis on demographics over outcomes, potentially tempering the longevity of such narrative-driven influences in ballet's merit-intensive ecosystem. Her legacy thus exemplifies individual triumph via exceptional talent navigating entrenched barriers, but underscores ballet's causal realities—rooted in and precocious discipline—over ideological interventions for enduring diversification.

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  127. https://www.allure.com/story/misty-copeland-estee-lauder-double-wear-foundation-shade-expansion
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  152. https://www.jacobspillow.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/JPDA2023_FINAL.pdf
  153. https://artdeballet.com/racial-and-ethnic-diversity/
  154. https://diversity.com/post/dei-fatigue-strategies-2025
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