ipl-logo

Misty Copeland: Making It In The Dance World

1437 Words6 Pages

Making it in the dance world.
Misty Copeland was the first African American ballerina in the American Ballet Theatre as a principal ballerina. Copeland broke the color barrier in the ballet world when she got the principal role in a classical ballet. This made other people follow their dreams just like she did. Many people believed that you had to be white in order to go far in dance. If you were not you had no chance of making it. Although racial barriers exists in dance Misty Copeland overcame that with her talent, drive and perseverance.
Copeland went onstage for the first time when she was only five years old for a school talent show; she didn’t really recall the confidence or the rush from all the applause, she most recalls the way her …show more content…

Her morning warm up is familiar to any ballet dancer, “it’s slow structured yet fragmentary- perfectly designed to bring me to center, where I can dance freely, without the barre… It consists of plies which are increasingly deeper bends of the knee, ronds de jambe which insists of a larger movement of the leg circling them and blending them into fondus , finishing with port de bras that stretch your torso forward and from side to side.” (Copeland 2). Copeland contines warming up by going across the floor doing glissades which are little jumps that go from from first position to fifth position, ending and starting in a plie. Copeland days all consisted of the same thing but she loved it and wouldn’t want it any different. After watching Copeland perform on stage everytime a new ballet company would want to work with her despite the color of her skin. Many companies like The American Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, English National Ballet, Houston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Miami City Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, National Ballet of Spain, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet. Even Prince watched her and asked her to dance with him on his tours, Copeland said yes and started dancing with him and managed to keep up in the company as well. When Prince went on a tour to Europe he offered for Copeland to be a part of some of the shows and she could kick it off with a solo. Copeland went and loved the experience from it. She gained a lot of publicity for

Show More
Related
433 Words | 2 Pages

As a Black woman in the 1930s and 1940s, Miller faced discrimination and segregation. However, she overcame these obstacles through her talent and determination, becoming a trailblazer for Black performers in the entertainment industry. Her success inspired many young Black Americans to pursue their dreams, even in the face of adversity. Miller's legacy is a testament to the resilience and creativity of the Black community and its impact on American

Read More
595 Words | 3 Pages

She would watch every meet that was on television and even recorded it so she could pause and rewind to learn the routines. She was only interested in the floor routines, so she decided to try out for the middle school drill squad. She made captain of all sixty girls who made the squad. Her coach, Elizabeth, Cantine, was amazed by her ability and suggested she try ballet at the local Boys and Girls Club. Her instructor there, Cindy Bradley, was also amazed.

Read More
1371 Words | 6 Pages

Ailey wanted to show the world what African Americans can do and the talent that they have, excluding the fact that they are black. Dance is a very hard thing to do. No matter black

Read More
644 Words | 3 Pages

The ideal body type for the average female in ballet is incredibly thin. Unfortunately, if they are considered an anomaly, they can experience extreme ridicule and alienation from their thinner counterparts. In Various Positions, Chantal received continuous comments about her portion sizes and her weight, later being publicly ridiculed in class. Roderick asked Georgia,”Are Chantal’s legs beautiful?

Read More
717 Words | 3 Pages

Her style is very descriptive and is not aimed directly for just dancers to read her book. By explaining different ballet terms, describing the scene, and discussing a ballerina’s struggles Flack’s book shows that girls will do a lot of things to become the best in the

Read More
1195 Words | 5 Pages

In Misty Copeland’s case, what others thought was her flaw, helped to become her pride. She had always been told that she had too big of a body build to be a dancer. This instead worked out in her favor because it helped her build more muscle and become a stronger and more graceful dancer even if she worked twice as hard as

Read More
357 Words | 2 Pages

She says her proudest accomplishment is that she made the Miller dance team, which if you didn’t know is super hard to get into. Which is why it’s her proudest

Read More
1819 Words | 8 Pages

“Dianna Williams is a Dancer and Choreographer who rose to prominence after the Lifetime network dance reality TV show ‘Bring It!’ went on to become a huge hit. Known to her students and fans as Miss D, Dianna is the owner of the ‘Dollhouse Dancing Factory’ in Jackson, Mississippi. She founded ‘Miss D’s Dancing Dolls’ in 2001 and the reality show is based on the performances of her protégés against various challengers. A lifetime native of Jackson, Mississippi, Dianna dedicated her life into perusing dance after college. Having perfected her dance moves through training in varied genres, she decided to compete in various dance competitions before establishing her own hip-hop dance troupe.”

Read More
335 Words | 2 Pages

New York City Ballet was founded in 1948 by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Kirstein’s goal was to create a place for young dancers to train in American ballet with the greatest ballet masters. They met in London in 1933, where Kirstein encouraged Balanchine to come to America. They opened the School of American Ballet in 1934, before starting the professional company. It was designed as a way for Balanchine to train dancers in his innovative style and technique.

Read More
797 Words | 4 Pages

“Being able to perform and be comfortable on stage preforming for hundreds of people has boosted my confidence,” she shares. Working hard to pursue a passion of hers has helped her to be confident about her abilities, on and off the stage. “Dance has definitely let me grow and evolve as a dancer and performer, therefore boosting my confidence.” “Since I've been dancing from such a young age, I grew up preforming. Growing up preforming, I have never really experienced stage fright.

Read More
681 Words | 3 Pages

Misty Copeland has been doing Pointe since she was 12 years old! (Point is is basically an upgrade from ballet. It’s where you stand on the very tip/ball of your toe on a cushion and a block of wood. A lot of people doubted her growing up. They told her she had the wrong turn out in her legs, and she was too old to be considered.

Read More
485 Words | 2 Pages

In 2007, BET recognized her as the sixteenth among the World's Top 25 Dancers of All Time, highlighting her remarkable talent and stage

Read More
1178 Words | 5 Pages

I was lucky to have been able to interview Larissa at that time; she hadn’t joined Diablo Ballet until January, after the Winter Ballet Gala. She is one of the most beautiful dancers that I have ever seen, which may be because she has to been to, as she explained it “the best of the best”: the National Ballet School of Canada. Though she admitted that it may have been too large of a leap for her, a sixteen-year-old at the time, she knows that the experience has taught her many valuable lessons about ballet, given her the opportunity to meet amazing people, and have exceptional experiences. She did say, “Mostly, that high-stress situation led to me being the victim of the stereotype, and not knowing how to deal with stress at sixteen, away from home”; the stereotype she was referring to is the issue of being unsatisfied with her body and weight. Larissa had

Read More
842 Words | 4 Pages

Dance, as an form of art and expression, can be claimed to be dated as far back as the origins of humanity. It is an innate and natural ability humans possess, and have always possessed. Throughout the long life of dance, countless individuals have contributed to its evolution, people from all over the world and thousand of different cultures. Each individual, renowned or not, who chooses to learn dance and change it to match their own artistic style and tendencies has shifted the dance world profoundly. Martha Graham did just this.

Read More
67 Words | 1 Pages

The Royal Academy of Ballet and Dance is a full-service dance school that is located in Buffalo, New York. The Royal Academy of Ballet was founded by Ginger Burke in 1947. Their classes include ballet, pre-ballet, pre-pointe, pointe, jazz, modern, tap, boy’s classes, acrobatics, and stretch. Their students excel beyond expectation. The students of the Royal Academy of Ballet can elevate their technique and they are inspired.

Read More

More about Misty Copeland: Making It In The Dance World

Related Topics

Open Document