Misty Copeland: Ain’t I A Dancer?
Photography
By GREGG DELMAN
And, for Misty Copeland, redefining the ballet world means first abolishing the concept of a “disadvantaged” and powerless demographic.
“The decision my teachers made to not highlight my circumstances is what allowed me to improve as quickly as I did,” Misty Copeland explains. Instead of focusing on the myriad reasons she would not succeed (she was 13 when she started dancing, and her family was living in poverty), teachers like Cynthia Bradley at the Boys & Girls Club offered only encouragement. “I didn’t feel like I had any boundaries,” she says. The young dancer was also “craving” to be pushed, because she desperately wanted to get better. Now at age 32, she’s come into her own, and says she’s no longer just imitating other greats; she is dancing like herself.
Only the third African American soloist in the history of the American Ballet Theater, Misty Copeland she wants the young, aspiring black ballerinas to push through.
“Whenever they say [my] race does not have the right body type, it just sounds so crazy and ignorant,” she exclaims. “Every race has varying body types, but I think it’s possible to take a body—and I’ve seen this happen—a body that people say is not built for ballet, and shape it by taking ballet classes. That’s what it’s there for—to shape and mold your muscles! That’s what I’ve done,” she says, proudly. “I’ve done my best to fit into what my body is capable of, and what makes sense for my body to fit into the ballet world.”
“The decision my teachers made to not highlight my circumstances is what allowed me to improve as quickly as I did,” Misty Copeland explains. Instead of focusing on the myriad reasons she would not succeed (she was 13 when she started dancing, and her family was living in poverty), teachers like Cynthia Bradley at the Boys & Girls Club offered only encouragement. “I didn’t feel like I had any boundaries,” she says. The young dancer was also “craving” to be pushed, because she desperately wanted to get better. Now at age 32, she’s come into her own, and says she’s no longer just imitating other greats; she is dancing like herself.”
Those ever-changing, transformative aspects are the reasons Misty Copeland reveres her art. In her memoir Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, Misty Copeland writes that she loves the ballet technique, partly because she knows she’ll never perfect it. She explains that the word ‘perfect’ is a motivator for her. “If you really understand it, it can push you to be your best self.” Another artist who understands this is Prince, and Misty Copeland says that it was her work relationship with the musician that helped her transition into a new stage of artistry. “It was definitely like this Perfect storm when we met,” she says, somewhat breathlessly. “I was complacent, and wondering if I was right for the ballet world. He allowed me to see what I could be.” Misty Copeland adds that Prince works incredibly hard on stage, but “when he’s off, he just lets it all go, and he’s in the moment.”
