Misty Copeland
Living in a motel room shared with her other and five siblings, Misty Copeland began ballet lessons at thirteen-years-old as a way to escape her daily life. Through her hard work, determination, and incredible talent, Copeland made history by becoming the first African-American principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre.
Copeland’s career is in a world largely dominated by people who don’t look like her, a world that is not immune to racial inequalities, from the opportunities available to people of colour, to the satin shoes they wear. Most shoe companies mostly cater to white dancers with pink satin ballet shoe often being the only one available on the racks in stores, leaving black and other POC ballet dancers to buy cheap makeup to cake onto their shoes to achieve the same seamless look.
She has become a champion for diversity and the evolution of rigid traditional ideas in the ballet world and beyond, passionate about bringing ballet to new audiences though book deals, speaking engagements and connecting with marginalized members of the dance community.
Misty Copeland had a late start to her ballet career but has pushed through adversity and accomplished far more than she could have ever dreamed. Despite all the hardships she faced and those that lie ahead of her, Copeland has become an inspirational representation for dancers that look like her, opening doors for the next generation of dancers and continuing to smash stereotypes and barriers in the dance world.
She is a powerful testament to how ambition combined with dedication to putting in the work is a cornerstone of success and achievement beyond beliefs.