Misty Copeland

Misty Copeland
Copeland in 2013
Born
Misty Danielle Copeland

(1982-09-10) September 10, 1982 (age 41)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
EducationSan Pedro High School
OccupationBallet dancer
Years active1995–present
Spouse
Olu Evans
​
(m. 2016)​
Children1
RelativesTaye Diggs (cousin-in-law)
Career
Current groupAmerican Ballet Theatre
Websitemistycopeland.com

Misty Danielle Copeland (born September 10, 1982)[1] is an American ballet dancer 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 a principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history.[3]

Copeland was considered a prodigy who rose to stardom despite not starting ballet until the age of 13. Two years later, in 1998, her ballet teachers, who were serving as her custodial guardians, and her mother, fought a custody battle over her. 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 and its corps de ballet in 2001, and became an ABT soloist in 2007.[7] As a soloist from 2007 to mid-2015, she was described as having matured into a more contemporary and sophisticated dancer.[8]

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.

  1. ^ Krajnik, E. (2017). Misty Copeland: First African American Principal Ballerina for the American Ballet Theatre. Breakout Biographies. PowerKids Press, The Rosen Publishing Group, Incorporated. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-5383-2626-8. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Major3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cooper, Michael (June 30, 2015). "Misty Copeland Is Promoted to Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theater". The New York Times. Retrieved June 30, 2015.; and Feeley, Sheila Anne (July 1, 2015). "Historic 1st for ballet company". A.M. New York. p. 3. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
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  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference FBSCaBQ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).