When asked to picture a strong female archetype, there are a lot of images that may come to mind. Maybe you see a powerful business woman fighting for respect in her high-ranking position. Maybe you see an educated scholar expressing her views and fending off criticism. Or maybe you see a political activist, breaking down barriers and making sustainable changes in the world. I can 100% get on board with all of these views, along with countless others. But as a dancer of 15 years, sometimes I also picture a woman executing a flawless pirouette.
The power and strength it takes to be a professional dancer? The effortless grace, confident posture, and absolute dedication that goes along with it? Pro dancers are pretty fierce. So when someone comes along who not only has impeccable dance technique but is also breaking down gender and racial barriers—now that’s someone I’m going to spend hours admiring on Pinterest.
Enter: Misty Copeland.
Let’s begin with the fact that Misty only started dancing when she was 13. Most dancers start way younger; I’m talking haven’t-even-started-school-yet young. Anyone who has dedicated years of his or her life to studying or practicing anything knows that time is magic when it comes to improving skills. Misty, of course, defied that by winning 1st in the Music Center Spotlight Awards only two years after she began training.
In 2001, Misty joined the American Ballet Theater as part of the corps de ballet (non-dance people: that’s a big deal). Then, in 2007, she became the second African-American female to be a Soloist for ABT. In 2014, she danced as Odette/Odile in ABT’s production of Swan Lake—the first time an African-American ever held that role. Even if you’re not into dance, you have to respect the defiance of stereotypes (ballerinas are typically thought of as tall, stick-thin, white girls).
In fact, this past June (2015), Misty earned the title of ABT’s FIRST African American principal dancer (the highest possible position).
I’m not even going to try to list all of the awards Misty has won, but the extensive list includes: induction into the Boys and Girls Club National Hall of Fame, the Council of Urban Professionals’ “Breakthrough Award”, and being named one of Time magazine’s 2015 “100 most influential people”.
If you’ve heard of Under Armour’s athletic-women empowerment movement, “I Will What I Want,” you should know that Misty was the first athlete to be featured. And that her stunningly moving ad for the campaign has, currently, well over 9 million views on Youtube (4 million of which are from its first week alone). If you haven’t seen it, you should look it up.
Her Twitter is @Mistyonpointe. Can we take a moment to appreciate the perfection of that pun?
Her memoir, Life in Motion, is a New York Times Bestseller.
She danced for Prince’s 2010 tour. On top of a Piano.
She performed on Broadway in ‘On the Town’.
She’s an ideal role model for treating your body right.
Please pause and appreciate this glorious quote: “I stand for being healthy and not going beyond that. You can exist as a dancer in the ballet world and have muscles and curves, and still be lean and healthy. I don’t starve myself…I don’t believe in ‘diets’ and cheating, it’s about a lifestyle.”
Just…
Yes.
Sources: http://mistycopeland.com/about/
http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/30/living/feat-misty-copeland-dancer-abt/
http://www.etonline.com/news/170804_misty_copeland_makes_her_broadway_debut_on_the_town/