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" 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. "
Misty Copeland
Learn
People
Woman
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" It's going to take a while before we see a real shift in the students and the dancers that are going into professional companies because it takes so many years of training, but I do think that there's a new crop of dancers, of minority dancers that are entering into the ballet world. "
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" I would have young dancers come to me and ask me questions and want to know what my experiences were like: 'What's it like being a black dancer?' So I just felt like it was necessary for me to share my experiences with them. "
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" My favorite role of all? Whatever I'm working on in the moment. "
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" 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. "
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" I think American Ballet Theatre is setting that standard now for classical ballet, that you can dream big, and it doesn't matter what you look like, where you come from, what your background is. "
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" Ballet was so structured. I'd been craving something that could guide me. "
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" Before dance came into my life, I don't really remember having any major goals or dreams of wanting to be anything. "
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" When I was a little girl, I was incredibly shy. My hope was to blend in, to fit in, to not be noticed in any significant way. I was deeply insecure and unsure of myself. "
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" At least in my performances, the audience has become so diverse in a way that I don't think ballet has ever experienced. "
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" What you put into your body is just as important as how hard you dance. I believe with the right training and an understanding of how to take care of your body, you can mold it to be whatever you want it to be. "
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" Being in ballet class, being on the stage, being surrounded by my peers at American Ballet Theater every day, keeps me so humble and grounded. Being in ballet class, I feel, is like this meditation for me every morning. "
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Humble
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" I was definitely a late bloomer and didn't really come into my own until I was probably in my 20s. "
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" I don't eat a ton of pasta or bread. But I eat dessert almost every night, and I drink. You need a bit of balance, and I've found mine. "
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You
" I traced the marley floor with my pointe shoes, and imagine myself on the stage, not as a member of the corps, but as a principal dancer. It felt right. It felt like a promise. Some day, somehow, it was going to happen for me. "
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" If the rhythm or beat of the music changes with a live orchestra, you have to think on your feet. If you feel like you are not on your leg, you have to make a decision to make it look as though nothing is going wrong. "
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Feet
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" I think that having a platform and having a voice to be seen by people beyond the classical ballet world has really been my power, I feel. "
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" 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. "
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Ballet
Off
Live
" Don't hold on to the barre like, 'I might die.' It's just ballet. "
Misty Copeland
Might
Die
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" My family didn't have very much money, so ballet wasn't even on my radar; I just found it randomly when I was 13 at a Boys & Girls Club. We were practicing in a basketball court in gym clothes with some old socks on. Even though it terrified me at first, I found that I really liked it. "
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Me
Money
Clothes
" I know that I'm talented, and I know that I'm not in American Ballet Theater because I'm black - I'm here because I'm a gifted dancer. "
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" Once you become a professional, to get through a ballet like 'Swan Lake' - four acts as the lead, changing character - the perseverance is incredible. It takes a lot to make it through and keep the same energy throughout the entire performance. "
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Lake
Character
Energy
" If I'm put in a situation where I am not really sure what's going to happen, it can be overwhelming. I get a bit anxious. "
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" My curves became an integral part of who I am as a dancer, not something I needed to lose to become one. "
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" I never thought of myself as special or particularly good at anything. But once I started ballet, suddenly I had a new identity: prodigy. "
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" I was on a path. I was going to become a principal dancer. I never let my mind rest. "
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" 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. "
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You
" It's hard to be the one that stands out when, you know, in a ballet company, you're trying to create unison and uniform when you're in a corps de ballet. "
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Create
Hard
Uniform
" I want to bring awareness to the lack of diversity in ballet, and feel like that's a large part of my purpose. "
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" I didn't want to be the best at anything; I just wanted to blend in. And that was kind of my existence throughout my family experiences at home of just kind of blending in in the background through my other siblings, which was easy to do. "
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" When I was dancing, I felt in control and happy. I'm a Virgo, so I really like to be in control. "
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