Tag: Misty Copeland

  • “I’ve never strayed away from being black. I’m biracial but something that my mom constantly said to me growing up in southern California was ‘Yes, you are Italian, you are German, and you are black, but you are going to be viewed by the world as a black woman’.” —Misty Copeland Maya Chung, “New Film…

  • New Film Shows Misty Copeland’s Journey as a Black Ballerina NBC News 2015-09-30 Maya Chung The 2015 Urbanworld Festival closed out on Saturday night with the highly anticipated documentary “A Ballerina’s Tale,” which details Misty Copeland’s journey to become a principal ballerina. The film festival, founded in 1997, is a five-day event that showcases narrative…

  • Misty Copeland on Why She Doesn’t Identify as Biracial: ‘I Am Viewed as a Black Woman’ Black Entertainment Television (BET) 2015-10-15 Evelyn Diaz Misty Copeland The history-making ballerina on changing the game. Misty Copeland and director Nelson George recently talked about their new documentary, A Ballerina’s Tale, which chronicles Copeland’s awe-inspiring rise to becoming the…

  • How should a dancer look? Ask Misty Copeland and Stella Abrera The Melissa Harris-Perry Show MSNBC 2015-07-18 Melissa Harris-Perry, Host Dancers Misty Copeland and Stella Abrera discuss their pioneering work as, respectively, the first African American and Filipino American principal ballerinas at the American Ballet Theater. Watch the video (00:07:46) here.

  • Black Dancers, White Ballets The New York Times 2015-07-15 Laurie A. Woodard New York University MISTY COPELAND’S elevation to principal dancer with American Ballet Theater is a tremendous accomplishment for her as a ballet dancer and as an African-American ballerina. Neither her talent nor her achievement should be underestimated. But even as she reaches the…

  • I am interested in black and mixed-race dancers, ballerinas in particular, because I see almost none in the major classical companies. Like me, the gay boy who didn’t want to be Prince Siegfied but Odette, they too are “other.” Now, when I am teaching “swan arms” to my students I think of Darci Kistler and…

  • Misty Copeland is first black dancer to lead US ballet group BBC News 2015-07-01 Misty Copeland has become a breakout star for ballet The American Ballet Theatre has named Misty Copeland its principal dancer – the first time a black ballerina has held the prestigious role. Ms Copeland, 32, made her debut this month, starring…

  • Misty Copeland Is Promoted to Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theater The New York Times 2015-06-30 Michael Cooper Misty Copeland, whose openness about race in ballet helped to make her one of the most famous ballerinas in the United States, was promoted on Tuesday by American Ballet Theater, becoming the first African-American female principal dancer…

  • Review: Misty Copeland Debuts as Odette/Odile in ‘Swan Lake’ The New York Times 2015-06-25 Alastair Macaulay, Dance Critic Misty Copeland and James Whiteside in “Swan Lake.” Julieta Cervantes for The New York Times When Misty Copeland made her New York debut in the double role of Odette/Odile in “Swan Lake,” the most epic role in…

  • Misty Copeland: meet the ballerina who rewrote the rules of colour, class and curves The Telegraph 2015-06-21 Jane Mulkerrins Facing opposition about her race, shape, even her hair, the ballet dancer Misty Copeland battled the establishment – and her own mother – to make it to the top Misty Copeland can pinpoint the precise moment…