She doesn’t read her reviews, and makes it a practice to stay off social media. Instead, Misty Copeland, the first Black woman to be named a principal dancer in the American Ballet Theatre, surrounds herself with a strong personal support system — something she recommends for everyone.
“Doing that gives you the freedom and confidence to feel powerful, and to keep yourself motivated and inspired,” she says.
Misty’s belief in finding your tribe comes from a pioneering career in classical dance in which she’s spent years being the first in almost everything she’s done.
Born in 1982, Misty is one of six siblings who lived with her single mother in southern California. When she was in sixth grade, she joined the school drill team, where the coach recognized her dance ability. After a few classes at the local Boys and Girls club, Misty was invited to attend a ballet school by a friend of the coach; she initially said no, as her mother didn’t have a car and the school was a two-hour bus ride from home. Misty’s mother eventually agreed to let the dance teacher pick Misty up after school and drive her to and from the studio.
Misty was 13 at this point, an age considered almost impossibility late for classical ballet dancers. But within three months of dancing every day, Misty was en pointe — and recognized as a prodigy.
The situation wasn’t ideal, however, and soon Misty’s mother told her she would have to give up dancing. Her instructor convinced Misty’s mother that she should keep going, and the two agreed that Misty would live with the instructor during the week, and spend weekends at home.
The arrangement lasted three years. Within the first year, Misty won a national ballet competition and landed her first solo role. At 15, she won the Los Angeles Spotlight Awards for gifted high school students, and a year later accepted an invitation to attend the San Francisco Ballet’s summer workshop.
She came back to an ugly custody situation. Her mother wanted Misty to return home and finish high school; Misty wanted to continue ballet. She filed an emancipation petition with the court, and her mother filed a restraining order against the family Misty lived with. The media had a field day, and after her mother promised to let Misty keep dancing, she dropped the petition and returned home. She was now a junior in high school.
Misty continued to study at a local studio, and was invited to New York for ABT’s summer workshops in 1999 (when she turned down a full scholarship to join the Studio Company to return for her senior year in high school) and 2000, after which she was one of six dancers selected for ABT’s junior dance troupe.
In the fall of 2000, Misty’s career took off. She joined the elite ABT Studio Company, and a year later became a member of its Corps de ballet. Eight months later, at 19, she suffered a fracture in her lower back and was sidelined for almost a year. While she recovered from the injury, she saw a doctor to address her delayed puberty, which is common among elite young dancers. She was prescribed birth control pills and gained 10 pounds; the changes to her body led to an eating disorder and body image issues, which took years to overcome before she was able to embrace her non-classical silhouette.
“My curves became an integral part of who I am as a dancer and not something I needed to use to become one,” she said on Master Class, a video program she recorded in early 2020 to teach young dancers. “I started dancing with confidence and joy … and I think I changed everyone’s mind about what a perfect dancer is supposed to look like.”
2015 was her breakout year. In March she danced the role of Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty, and in April made her American debut as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake at the Kennedy Center. In June she made her debut in Romeo and Juliet, and later that month made her New York debut in the role of Odette/Odile in ABT’s performance of Swan Lake at the Met, which critics and fans described as “a crowning achievement”. Pioneering dancers Raven Wilkinson, who became a mentor and best friend to Misty before her death in 2019, and Lauren Anderson were in the audience, and presented Misty with flowers on stage.
It was in the midst of this season that Misty was promoted to principal ballerina, the first Black woman to be so named in ABT’s 75-year history.
There’s a lot more to her than dancing, however.
Misty has written three books, including a children’s book and a memoir that is optioned for film. She’s filmed a music video with Prince, walked the runway at New York Fashion Week, and taught a MasterClass for aspiring young dancers.
She has her own line of active wear, sponsorship with multinational companies including Coach and Under Armour (for which her woman-focused campaign has won several awards) and was named one of the 25 most impactful athletes in women’s sports by ESPN.
She even has her own Barbie doll.
Most recently, Misty cofounded Swans for Relief to help raise money for dance companies impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The effort features 32 ballerinas from 14 countries, including Misty, performing on YouTube; so far, the fundraising effort has helped 22 different ballet companies support dancers who have been furloughed or lost their jobs.
“At this moment in the world, artists have so much power,” Misty recently told Master Class. “It’s the human condition to gravitate towards the arts in times of crisis, and speaks volumes to the importance of having the arts in an adult’s life, and especially in a child’s.”
Photo of Misty Copeland by Gilda N. Squire