“[Dance is] resilience, grace, consistency, community, expression and processing,” Misty Copeland, the renowned ballet dancer, said. “It’s so important to … be one with yourself, and use your body and mind in a different way, and hear music.”
On April 15 at Scripps College’s Garrison Theater, Copeland spoke about her unexpected journey into the dance world and her work in making the arts more accessible. Copeland was the first Black principal dancer and soloist at the American Ballet Theater (ABT), performing iconic roles such as Odette in “Swan Lake” and Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet.”
Copeland’s film production company, Life in Motion Productions, which she co-founded with producer and former dancer Leyla Fayyaz, seeks to make a diverse range of art and stories accessible for the general public. In addition, Copeland has written several books, including an autobiography.
Abdiel Jacobson, an assistant professor of dance at Scripps, interviewed Copeland, followed by an audience Q&A. 5C students as well as young dancers from the Claremont area gathered in Garrison to listen and engage with the talk.
In her advice to young dancers, Copeland underscored the importance of trying to make the most out of feedback.
“It’s really useful to think outside of yourself … Take what you can from [feedback] because there will be value in it,” Copeland said.
Coming from an unstable childhood, Copeland’s path to dance was exceptionally turbulent. She was homeless for years, and frequently moved — before the age of seven, she had attended seven schools. The trajectory of her life changed when she joined a Boys and Girls Club in San Pedro, California.
“[Dance is] resilience, grace, consistency, community, expression and processing.”
“That was the first time I felt like this is what a home is,” Copeland said. “It was somewhere I could consistently go to … It was the first time I experienced what mentorship was.”
Despite being an extremely shy and introverted teen, Copeland decided to audition for captain of the dance team at 13, which she noted would become critical for her leadership development.
Though she had never heard of ballet at the time, her coach encouraged her to take a free ballet class. To her surprise, the ballet teacher told her that she was a ballet prodigy. Four years later, she was dancing professionally at the ABT; from then on, her star continued to rise.
Attendee Rebecca Witjas, a dance teacher at Cal Poly Pomona, was surprised by how humble Copeland was.
“She was very down-to-earth. I thought that was amazing … She [is] so famous in my world. And it seems like she’s really courageous about everything,” Witjas said.
Copeland reflected on the unique pressure of being the only Black woman in the ABT during her time there. During the company’s filming of “Swan Lake,” Copeland was taken out of the corps de ballet because she would “ruin the aesthetic” as the only Black ballerina among the white dancers. She would later go on to perform as Odette/Odile, the lead role in “Swan Lake.”.
“I thought, if I won’t do everything I can to push and accomplish as much as I can in my time, will there ever be another that will come after me?” Copeland asked. “I had to [understand that] I’m doing something valuable through my uniqueness.”
These experiences motivated her to advocate for greater inclusivity in the arts. Copeland’s foundation, The Misty Copeland Foundation, offers the Be Bold Program, an introductory ballet initiative for students of color without access to quality after-school dance programs.
Copeland emphasized the difficulty of this work when institutions have different value systems that prioritize exclusion and elitism.
“During the pandemic and post-George Floyd, that was the biggest push I’ve seen in terms of having real conversations about the lack of diversity in this art form,” Copeland said. “There are so many talented dancers of color who need to be given an opportunity. Leadership should reflect who we want to see within the art form.”
After 2020, many ballet companies, including ABT, Pacific Northwest Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada, took steps toward supporting diverse dancers by commissioning Black choreographers and diversifying the training pipeline.
Attendee Alex Hamilton SC ’25 particularly appreciated this part of the discussion.
”I am a dancer myself, and especially as a Black woman, it was very inspiring to hear about … diversifying old areas of dance and how difficult that is to happen,” Hamilton said.
The audience seemed to find Copeland’s hopes for a more inclusive dance world insightful and profound, meeting her with four rounds of standing ovations.
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