Copeland, Misty (1982-…), is an American ballerina. In 2015, she became the first African American woman to be named a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT). Copeland became known for breaking barriers in the traditional world of classic ballet. Her African American heritage and fuller-figured, muscular body were considered by some as unsuited for classical ballet roles. Since the mid-1900’s, the classically ideal ballerina’s body had generally been considered to be slender and delicate.
Misty Danielle Copeland was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on Sept. 10, 1982, and was raised in San Pedro, California. Copeland was introduced to ballet at age 13 at a local Boys & Girls Club. Despite learning to dance at what is considered a late age for ballet, she was considered a prodigy (gifted child). She began training at the San Pedro Dance Center. Soon after, Copeland moved in with her ballet teacher, who mentored the young dancer and waived (excused) her class fees. After barely three months of study, Copeland began dancing on pointe, a more advanced level of ballet that features dancing on the tips of the toes. She then starred in the role of Clare in The Chocolate Nutcracker, an African American version of The Nutcracker ballet. At age 15, Copeland received a scholarship to attend the San Francisco Ballet’s summer intensive program. She then trained at the Lauridsen Ballet Centre in Torrance, California.
In 2000, Copeland was offered a scholarship to attend ABT’s summer intensive program. In 2001, she joined the company’s corps de ballet. The corps de ballet is the name for the members of a company who dance as a group. Copeland began to perform as a soloist in 2007. Her notable roles with ABT include Flower Girl in Don Quixote, Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty, and the title role in The Firebird. Copeland has also given notable performances in contemporary works by the American choreographers (dance creators) Twyla Tharp and Paul Taylor and by the British choreographer Liam Scarlett.
In 2015, Copeland made her Broadway debut, dancing and singing in a revival of On the Town, a musical composed by the American composer Leonard Bernstein. She made her first appearance in a feature-length motion picture in The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018).
Copeland has written a number of books, including the memoir Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina (2014, with Charisse Jones) and Ballerina Body (2017), a health and fitness book. She also wrote the children’s books Firebird (2014, illustrated by Christopher Myers) and Bunheads (2020, illustrated by Setor Fiadzigbey).
