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" Ballet became this escape for me. I feel like I was on my own a lot. I was searching for stability, so I was going off on my own and imagining what I thought stability was. Ballet became a way for me to cope. "

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" Being one of the few African American women to make it to this level in a classical ballet company, the level of American Ballet Theatre, takes a lot of perseverance. "

Misty Copeland

Theatre

American

Perseverance

" My curves became an integral part of who I am as a dancer, not something I needed to lose to become one. "

" I've always approached my career and my life, you know, one day at a time, as if this was the last day that I'm going, because you never know as an athlete and as a dancer. You never know what can happen today, tomorrow. "

" I never thought of myself as special or particularly good at anything. But once I started ballet, suddenly I had a new identity: prodigy. "

" I think all dancers are control freaks a bit. We just want to be in control of ourselves and our bodies. That's just what the ballet structure, I think, kind of puts inside of you. "

" It's all so surreal, and I'm living my dream. And you know, principal or not, I'm getting to dance all the roles that I've dreamed of doing. "

" I have the opportunity, which most people don't experience nearly as much, of being in front of a mirror up to 10 hours a day. Staring at your body, you really get to know every little detail of how to make yourself look your best. "

" I think most people think of ballerinas as kind of either as a fairytale, far-away thing that's really not attainable, something they can't grasp, or they think of them as European or Russian and kind of their nose up in the air. So, it's cool for me to, like, sit with them and for them to really see themselves as me. "

Misty Copeland

See

Cool

" Most ballerinas take their first ballet class when they are 5 or 6 years old. I was 13 when I took mine on the basketball court of the San Pedro Boys & Girls Club in California. "

" I was on a path. I was going to become a principal dancer. I never let my mind rest. "

" I don't want to be anything else other than a ballerina. I love what I do outside of my work, but at the end of the day, I have to sacrifice. "

" Ballet found me, I guess you could say. I was discovered by a teacher in middle school. I always danced my whole life. I never had any training, never was exposed to seeing dance, but I always had something inside of me. I would love to choreograph and dance around. "

" Ballet was this thing that just felt so innate in me, like I was meant to be doing this. "

Misty Copeland

Meant To Be

Ballet

" The classical ballet world is so exclusive and small, and a lot of people don't know about it. "

" It's a European art form, and you're used to seeing a certain type of person as a ballerina. And I don't look like a lot of the girls around me. "

" Something happens when you feel that energy and excitement from the audience. And you do, I don't know, four pirouettes. You jump higher than you ever have. And it's just this really magical thing that happens in those moments. "

" I wake up every morning, and I go to ballet class no matter what's going on the night before. That's my priority, and that's what makes me feel sane and not removed from the realities of my world. "

" It's hard to change someone's ideas when they might not even really consciously know that they're being racist, or have racist ideas, just because ballet has been this way for hundreds of years. "

" My favorite role of all? Whatever I'm working on in the moment. "

" I grew up poor in San Pedro, California, sleeping on the floor of shady motels with my five siblings and not always sure when or where I'd get my next meal. "

" Whenever there was chaos in my house, whether it was arguing, being in a cramped space with all of us kids and screaming, I found an empty space where I could just put music on and move. "

" There are no taking days off. There are no distractions. If I had that, I physically wouldn't be capable of going onstage and performing live theater. It's extremely demanding. I have to be in ballet class every day. "

" I wanted to open the dialogue about race in ballet and bring more people in. It's just beautiful to see the interest that has exploded for such an incredible art form that I will forever be grateful to! "

" Ballet was so structured. I'd been craving something that could guide me. "

Misty Copeland

Been

Guide

" I was the first person in my family who was ever interested in dance, or fine art of any kind for that matter - I came from a very humble beginning in San Pedro, California. "

" Being the only African American at this level in American Ballet Theater, I feel like people are looking at me, and it's my responsibility for me to do whatever I can to provide these opportunities in communities to be able to educate them. "

" I love heels. I'm 5-foot-2, and I like feeling tall. "

" I am a black woman, and my experiences would not be what they are if I wasn't. I'm so happy to share those experiences for other people to be able to learn from them. "

" To be empathetic to everyone around you, I think, is such a powerful thing to hold. "

" My childhood is a part of my story, and it's why I'm who I am today and why my career is what it is. "