Misty Copeland (1982- ), an American classical ballet dancer, in 2015 became the first Black American woman ever to become a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre (ABT). That makes her one of the top ballerinas at one of the top classical ballet companies in the world! Mikhail Baryshnikov was a principal at ABT.
In the US, ballet is mainly seen as a White thing. Accordingly, many assume that rail-thin White women make the best ballerinas. But, as Copeland herself has shown, that comes from prejudice, not from the demands of the art.
Copeland did not start ballet till age 13. Many professionals start at age three. Yet she could do in months what took most girls years of practice.
She loved ballet more than anything – but then her mother told her to quit. The family (her now-divorced mother and six children) had moved to a motel room at the Sunset Inn in Gardena (in metropolitan Los Angeles). Going to ballet class, now 13 miles away (21km), meant a long bus ride.
Her ballet teacher, seeing her rare talent, said Copeland could stay with her during the week, coming home at weekends. Her mother agreed. But over time, she saw her daughter less and less – there was always some excuse. So after two and a half years, she told her to move back home. The ballet teacher persuaded Copeland to say no and fight her mother in court!
In the end, her mother got her to come back home – and even to turn down an offer from ABT. She wanted her to finish high school, go to the prom, not lose touch with her family and all that: a future in ballet, after all, could easily be ended by one bad injury.
In 2001, after high school, Copeland joined ABT at last – but then injured her back. She could not dance for a year. Then puberty hit (at age 18). It gave her girl’s body the curves of a woman. Some said she had the wrong “body type” for a ballerina. But after some five years, she was as good as ever.
When she arrived at ABT, she was the only Black ballerina. They did not hire a second one till ten years later (also light-skinned). She felt lonely and like she did not belong. She felt a more natural connection to some of the Cuban and Russian dancers than to her fellow Americans. That was partly due to class: in Russia and Cuba, ballet is not the preserve of the rich.
In 2007, she became the first Black female soloist at ABT in 20 years. Soloist is the rank just below principal.
In 2012, she injured her left leg, but a year later she was back and better than ever.
In 2014, she became the first Black woman at ABT to star in “Swan Lake” – a dream come true.
As a Black ballerina she wants to broaden the appeal of ballet and be a role model to Black girls.
Thanks to Mary Burrell and others for suggesting this post.
– Abagond, 2015.
Sources: Mainly the New Yorker (2014), CBS (2015) and ABC (1998).
See also:
- Stella Abrera – became the first Filipino American ballerina to become a principal at ABT, also in 2015.
- Other Black Angelenas who rose to the top of their (very White) fields:
- Serena Williams – also told she had the wrong “body type”.
- Tyra Banks
- Gabby Douglas
- Bessie Coleman
- The Blind Side
584
She is beautiful! Congrats to her on being a principal dancer. She will inspire so many young girls especially girls of colour
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She is gorgeous.
She’s an inspiration to my ten yr. old niece, who, while she hasn’t expressed an interest in being a Ballerina, loves ballet and has been inspired to read Misty’s book, this weekend.
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Congratulations to her and Stella Abrera the Filipina ballerina also. They were featured on Melissa Harris-Perry. There is also young Michaela Prince who is one to look out for who has a most amazing story to tell. She should also be recognized. She is now a lead dancer for Dance Theater of Harlem. Beautiful black ballerinas do exist.
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Great to see a post about someone who has won out in a field that is saturated with privilege. Dance seems to have been welcoming to gay people for a long time, but POC and working class people are definitely minorities.
Also nice to see a dancer who seems to have a healthy body shape (although I would say a few more pounds would look even healthier).
Ballet is seriously physically punishing. I had a niece-by-marriage (a long finished marriage) who was a ballet dancer and teacher. She said that many dancers have serious osteo issues later in life. I hope this lady gets out intact at retirement time.
I’m also glad to see race and class mentioned in the same post. The struggles for racial equality and class equality are really aspects of one fight. Class inequality is a major driver of racism. Privileged classes encourage racism because deflection of resentment and hatred serves their interests.
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I see mention of Serena Williams in the supplementary links. Now that is what I consider a healthy physique. One of Serena’s serves could take out a tank.
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The fact that she was able to start ballet at 13 and be good enough for ABT in five years speaks to her talent. I think she will continue to go far.
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It’s odd (to me) that some would think that she had too many womanly curves – her body is perfect (that last photo!!!).
But in a post about race and class – why bring up that both ballerinas are light-skinned?
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Ballet is not just seen as white in America. It is seen as something for snobby pompous stuck up people, sort of like classical music.
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What more can you say about Misty? She’s beautiful, poised and didn’t let anyone deter her from her goals. Love it!
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@ Mary Burrell, Michaela DePrince (who is a lot darker, but suffers from vitilgo) seems currently rather associated with the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam.
https://www.facebook.com/michaeladeprince0106
http://www.lindanieuws.nl/videos/michaela-deprince-ontmoet-grote-voorbeeld-bij-tv-show/ (meets Magali Messac)
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So ballet is cool now when a black woman does it?
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@ Uglyblackjohn
Issues of colourism too.
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I don’t see white women as naturally better ballerinas, however I do see it as apart of European culture. Watching it doesn’t appeal to me at all. I wonder if the lack of black ballerinas is due to discrimination or a lack of interest from black wo(men).
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@ Axlone
I don’t think it’s a judgment on whether or not ballet is “cool.”
But in context, ballet is yet another thing, of a long list of things, that Whites believed Blacks to be incapable of doing. The idea that a Black woman could become the principle dancer for a prestigious national ballet company, like American Ballet Theatre, was simply not even seriously entertained. It just required too much grace, too much discipline, and too much hard work.
Even if a Black woman could dance the ballet, she would never be able to become better at it than all the White dancers in her company! And it is IN THAT CONTEXT (the context of White Supremacy) that the story becomes important in, once again, disproving White ignorance about What Black are and aren’t capable of doing..
As to whether it’s “cool” or not (like anything else) some people will like it, and some will not, but either way, the achievement should be acknowledged. Capiche?
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@The Pragmatist,
The lack of interest due to mentors might be the reason. Also, cultural identity and/or cultural isolation may also be the cause. And, keeping it real, Misty Copeland would be hard to identify as A/A from the audience. I see Hollywood potential in Ms. Copeland. Euro Americans jus loves them some Halle Berry types and don’t need a lot of Viola Davis’ for the limited roles available for POC.
Q) How do you lower the interest in MLB baseball as a career option among African American youth?
A) You set up youth baseball factories in tropical 3rd world nations, cut high school sports budgets in inner city high schools and eliminate baseball diamonds from inner city parks. In addition, unlike football and basketball, baseball has a very long no/low paying apprenticeship.
Q) Why aren’t there more (ANY?) African Americans on the PGA Tour?
A) Like ballet, the price of admission (equipment, green fees, paid coaches, no inner city high school sports budget) to train youth along with a long unpaid apprenticeship that usually requires a financial sponsor even if the black athlete was good in college. In addition, much to my surprise, historical black colleges import their golf scholarship talent from Europe rather than train African American students who usually started playing late in their teenage years. No, REALLY….??? Yes, REALLY..!!
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BRAVO to you Misty Copeland! (applause, applause)
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Axlone said: “So ballet is cool now when a black woman does it?
Perhaps you forgot that this is Amerika and from whence she came. It’s not that being a ballerina is now “cool” because she’s black. In fact, it’s just the opposite. She persevered against her own blackness and other family struggles while shattering long-held misconceptions and outright lies about black folks in general. This is why she deserves accolades!
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Congratulations to Misty Copeland!
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@The Pragmatist
I see a pretty decent amount of black dancers so I am not inclined to believe it has to do with a lack of interest. Though many black dancers do not make it to lead roles. Some look at that and think why work hard to play extra or be in she shadow because of the dark skin.
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I can see a film with Sandra Bullock reprising her white savior role.
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I am confused on what was wrong with what Grove jo said.
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Gro jo* correction
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Hi Lordy, how are you, I’m fine, thank you for not asking. I see you’ve finally admitted that you don’t give a damn that Boney was a racist mass murderer and you’re ok with that. I’m glad I was able to help you see your true self.
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sharinalr, the poor kid’s mad at me ever since I pointed out to him that his hero, Napoleon Bonaparte was a racist warmonger who murdered millions, restored slavery that had been abolished throughout French territories in 1794 and instituted racist laws in France to keep blacks out and control those who lived there. I pointed out to him that his hero anticipated the Dred Scott decision by more than fifty years.
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Just an observation about Misty (and many other Back women) from a photographer’s viewpoint. I notice how photographers often overexpose photos of Black women (or over-light them) in order to make them appear REALLY, really, light-skinned. You can tell by the first two photos above that there are very minimal shadows cast from the contours of her face. She appears “washed out” and ghostly. The last photo looks more natural—they are still using a flash but there’s pretty even saturation across the breadth of the photo. I always wonder what the intentions of photographers are in such cases.
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Misty Copeland is not both talented, easy on the eyes and has an inner glow that seems to jump out and grab one’s attention-there is No flippin’ Doubt that she is cool, and only those jealous of such a sistah would even have to question themselves about her! @gro jo, LmaOo You got me crackin’ uP over here (and you raised some very valid, and informative points too)!
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Misty Copeland is not Only both talented, typo..
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P.S. Her body is perfect, the blindest o’ mice can see that too..
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and I ain’t blind… 🙂
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This reply has nothing to do with Misty Copeland, so I ask for the indulgence of the readers of this post for responding to Lordy’s stupid lies on Napoleon here:
Lordy, you ignorant slut, your love of the mass murderer Boney has blinded you to the facts and my reply to your stupid lies.
You wrote: “Not a word about the dead Russians from you, not a peep – and I say this as a Napoleon advocate.” Your dead Russians were included in the following statement “Napoleon Bonaparte was a racist warmonger who murdered millions, restored slavery that had been abolished throughout French territories in 1794 and instituted racist laws in France to keep blacks out and control those who lived there.””
You also wrote: “And I pointed out to you that you absolutely failed in finding evidence to back up your conviction that Napoleon personally ordered the mass murders based on ideology. Of course the French commanders on Saint-Domingue screwed up, big time.”
Would a quote from Boney satisfy your ‘rigorous’ standards? Glad to oblige, here you go: ““My decision to destroy the authority of the blacks in Saint Domingue (Haiti) is not so much based on considerations of commerce and money, as on the need to block for ever the march of the blacks in the world.”
Napoleon Bonaparte” http://toussaintlouverturehs.org/quotes.htm
Your attempt to blame Boney’s henchmen, Leclerc in St-Domingue and Richepanse on Guadeloupe is unconvincing because they did not plan or order the dispatch of two-thirds of the french navy to restore slavery on these territories where all the inhabitants were, since 1794, free french citizens. Where’s your ‘evidence’ that Boney didn’t intend to re-enslave people who fought for France? Once Louverture was sent to France, why wasn’t he given the opportunity to defend himself in a court of law? Why was Richepanse not reprimanded by Boney for killing between 10-30% of the black population of Guadeloupe before restoring slavery there?
No my ignorant, stupid and lying friend, your Boney and his equally racist friend, Thomas Jefferson, knew exactly what they were doing when they worked, hand in glove, to try to “…block for ever the march of the blacks in the world.” Your pretense to being some kind of “anti-racist” is a figment of your febrile imagination.
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Lordy, you’re such precious little hypocrite, the ignorant slut jibe was an homage to the Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtain routine on SNL in the 1970s. http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/point-counterpoint-lee-marvin-and-michelle-triola/2846665 The real reason you’re running away with your tail between your legs is that I’ve exposed you for the knave you are. You’ve said mean things about me, I never used them as excuses to not respond to your accusations.
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I will say that Napoleon quote was quite damaging.
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OFF TOPIC: Napoleon.
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Here is a quote of what Misty said was told to her:
“heard I wasn’t right for the company. I wasn’t right for ballet. My skin was too dark. I was too muscular. My bust was too big.”
So what is the acceptable body type for a ballerina? A smaller man body.
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I admit that while I was happy for her ABT achievement, I knew little about her history since I don’t really follow ballet. I am even more impressed by her now after reading this post. This is a woman who could not be separated from her passion. So inspiring. Thanks for this post!
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Lordy, I’m dying to read what you wrote that Abagond ruled off topic, so I went to your latest post on Boney and left you a comment.
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[…] Sourced through Scoop.it from: abagond.wordpress.com […]
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@sharinalr, Danggg, if she was deemed “too dark” to be a ballerina (which is completely asinine and senseless, by the way)-who do those douchebags think should qualify, Casper? lol
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[…] Misty Copeland (1982- ), an American classical ballet dancer, in 2015 became the first Black American woman ever to become a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre (ABT). That makes her one of the top ballerinas at one of the top classical ballet companies in the world! Mikhail Baryshnikov was a principal at ABT. In the US, ballet is mainly seen as a White thing. Accordingly, many assume that rail-thin White women make the best ballerinas. But, as Copeland herself has shown, that comes from prejudice, not from the demands of the art. Copeland did not start ballet till age 13. Many professionals start at age three. Yet she could do in months what took most girls years of practice. Continue reading […]
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havn’t read the comments completely but looks like the one drop rule plus tokenism to get deluded blacks to hope for a shot at yet another white bastion thats not even worth it in the first place – and yeah she’s pretty for a white/black women – or is it black/white women??
whatever – not interested in a host of “white” european cultural practices – just commenting cause its at abagond’s blog…
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Misty’s biggest obstacle is the “dark skin aesthetic” practices by ballet company artistic directors and choreographers. The preference for uniformity is huge in ballet and in professional dance. The Rockettes would be a classic example of uniformity in dance and did not even allow women with dark skin to audition until about 1988. Classical ballet is based on European stories and the defense given for not casting women who aren’t white is that these stories were written with white women in mind, ect. and that black and brown women should look to their own ethnic dance forms, however a quick look at Alvin Ailey training program’s ethnicity would show at least 18 percent white dancers, possibly more . Anecdotally, I thought the Alivin Ailey Fordham BFA auditions were some of the whitest auditions I had seen. Of course that is just a small slice of my opinion.
There have been beautiful black ballerinas in the past but I believe Misty has the backing of some big money and this has helped to promote a lot of change for young women to pursue their dreams. However, I am gonna agree with Mbeti that ballet is very white european and it’s also an extremely unhealthy sport which encourages anorexia and pain for the sake of an ideal. I think it’s a very sad sport. Just watch “A Beautiful Tragedy” about a Russian ballerina to see just how horrible ballet treats young girls.
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I think that ballet is like anything else. You can enshrine it and lock it away in a box called “classical” and like any other living thing, it will suffocate without new air, new ideas, and new expression. Ballet is something that grows and changes and accommodates new perspectives… either that or it just collects dust and becomes irrelevant.
Sure, ballet was invented by White people, but then so was basketball… if we want to get real about it. So were all the instruments used in jazz music. But it was that Blacks brought to the european instruments that made the difference. I look forward to seeing women of ALL colors contribute to ballet and be recognized for what they bring to it with less focus on where the art for originated centuries ago. And I think that Misty Copeland’s recent achievement is a good step towards furthering those contributions.
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Well if ballet is a white oriented art developed Europeans which i don’t argue but saying that black people should have a love for the art form is ignorant and narrow. If that’s the case the Williams sisters and Althea Gipson and Arthur Ashe shouldn’t be playing tennis.
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typo: Let me start over saying that ballet is a white European art form i don’t argue with that but saying black people having aspirations to be included in the world of ballet is ignorant and narrow minded. I love the art of all forms of dance. If that’s the case Althea Gipson and Arthur Ash and the Williams sisters shouldn’t have been playing in the elitist sport of tennis. Or Tiger Woods shouldn’t be playing golf.
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@Mary Burrell, I agree 100 percent, and I think it’s very painful to think of these young girls being excluded and/or being offered stereotypical roles.
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@King, Classical Ballet is just terrible the way it casts and I hope that Misty’s achievements will bring more artistry and beauty, Contemporary Ballet and Modern dance seem a little more open but still lag behind in terms of advancing and promoting young beautiful black and brown girls/women who have worked so hard only to find that when they audition they are not being compared to the other people auditioning, or cast based talent, the choreographers seem to have no problem ignoring them as if they are invisible or chose one person to fill a predetermined spot. Sad.
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@ vanishingpoint: Ballet is rigorous and it can be very cruel and cause health issues for young women this is true. But it’s great that Misty Copeland didn’t fit the anorexic body that traditional ballet dictates. She will open the door for many women who have the drive and talent to be accepted.
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@Mary Burrell, Misty is still pretty small compared to people outside the ballet world, 🙂
Here’s a pretty good documentary trailer about Black Ballerinas.
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Interesting read.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/misty-copeland/what-being-principal-dancer-means-to-me_b_7967838.html?utm_hp_ref=black-voices
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[…] Misty Copeland (1982- ), an American classical ballet dancer, in 2015 became the first Black American woman ever to become a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre (ABT). That makes her one of the top ballerinas at one of the top classical ballet companies in the world! Mikhail Baryshnikov was a principal at ABT.In the US, ballet is mainly seen as a White thing. Accordingly, many assume that rail-thin White women make the best ballerinas. But, as Copeland herself has shown, that comes from prejudice, not from the demands of the art.Copeland did not start ballet till age 13. Many professionals start at age three. Yet she could do in months what took most girls years of practice.Continue reading […]
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Now that Prince has passed away will Misty Copeland put together a dance piece to honor her special friendship with Prince.
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Interesting learning how Misty Copeland was made a principal dancer in American Ballet Company. Prince saw her performance at Lincoln Center and saw how she stood out among the other dancers on the stage and demanded she be made a principal dancer and spoke with the ABC and today she is a star. I know she is indebted to Prince for opening these doors for her.
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“Love discovered me all weaponless,
and opened the way to the heart through the eyes,
which are made the passageways and doors of tears…”
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Misty ! My ballet crush !
“That’s it: a slender arrow sticks fast in my heart,
and cruel Love lives there, in my conquered breast.
Shall I give in: to go down fighting might bank the fires?
I give in! The burden that’s carried with grace is lighter.
I’ve seen the torch that’s swung about grow brighter
and the still one, on the contrary, quenched.
The oxen that shirk when first seized for the yoke
get more lashes than those that are used to the plough.
The hot steed’s mouth is bruised from the harsh curb,
the one that’s been in harness, feels reins less.
Love oppresses reluctant lovers more harshly and insolently
than those who acknowledge they’ll bear his slavery.
Look I confess! Amor, I’m your latest prize:
stretching out conquered arms towards your justice…”
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