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" I didn't care how much work it would take, and I didn't see the time invested as a waste or like I was missing out on anything. Ballet became my ultimate passion. "
Misty Copeland
Work
Time
See
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" More often than we realize, people see in us what we don't see in ourselves. "
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" I was on a path. I was going to become a principal dancer. I never let my mind rest. "
Misty Copeland
Principal
Path
Rest
" When people meet me in person, they're usually surprised at how petite I am because there's this idea that because I'm black, I just look a certain way. "
Misty Copeland
Look
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" 'The Company' was interesting. I didn't love it, although it might be compelling to someone who isn't a dancer. There wasn't a lot of dialogue, and you were just kind of observing the creative process of choreography and in class. "
Misty Copeland
Love
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Process
" 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. "
Misty Copeland
Know
Living
You
" Finding great training, I think, is number one. I did a lot of research and found really great teachers, and it just takes - I took a year off from school and did independent studies so that I could devote all of my time to it. But I think that training is the key, definitely, and it's not a sport. "
Misty Copeland
Time
Great
Think
" Depending on the level you're at in your company, the higher you go up in rank, usually the longer you can dance. "
Misty Copeland
Dance
You
Go
" To be empathetic to everyone around you, I think, is such a powerful thing to hold. "
Misty Copeland
Hold
Powerful
Think
" 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
Me
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. "
Misty Copeland
Old
California
Class
" 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. "
Misty Copeland
Space
Music
Move
" 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. "
Misty Copeland
Ideas
Know
Someone
" 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. "
Misty Copeland
Feel
Thought
Own
" 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. "
Misty Copeland
Dance
Believe
Training
" 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. "
Misty Copeland
Where
Situation
I Am
" There are hundreds of stories I've heard from black women from my generation, generations before me, and the next, that have never been given an opportunity to fulfill their dreams. "
Misty Copeland
Me
Opportunity
Black
" 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. "
Misty Copeland
American
Humble
Day
" The ballet world I don't think is an art form that is quick to change or to adjust or evolve. "
Misty Copeland
Think
Ballet
Change
" I don't feel like my life is that of a superstar! Every day I wake up, I take the train, I go to my ballet class. My everyday life is pretty normal. "
Misty Copeland
Day
Wake Up
Train
" Dance kind of was always just a part of my natural state as a child. It's something that, whenever music was playing, I was dancing. "
Misty Copeland
Dancing
Music
Just
" 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
" 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. "
Misty Copeland
Professional
World
Think
" I feel like going to class every morning is so humbling. You're always working to improve, and you're always being critiqued on your next performance. It's not about what you've done. There's always room to grow. "
Misty Copeland
You
Feel
Grow
" I think I'm pretty laid back. I like cooking, being at home, and going to concerts. And I love to shop! "
Misty Copeland
Back
Love
Home
" 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. "
Misty Copeland
Day
Work
Love
" When I was dancing, I felt in control and happy. I'm a Virgo, so I really like to be in control. "
Misty Copeland
Dancing
Like
Happy
" 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. "
Misty Copeland
Childhood
I Am
Story
" You have to be the one promoting yourself. If you don't think that you're worthy, you're never going to make it. "
Misty Copeland
Never
Yourself
You
" When I was 16, I moved to Torrance, California to train at a more advanced studio, and by 19, I joined the American Ballet Theatre in New York. It all happened so fast - it was pretty unheard of that someone could train for so few years and become a professional at one of the most elite dance companies in the United States. "
Misty Copeland
American
New York
Theatre
" 'The Firebird' just symbolizes a lot for me and my career. It was one of the first really big principal roles that I was ever given an opportunity to dance with American Ballet Theatre, and it was a huge step for the African-American community, I think, within the classical ballet world. "
Misty Copeland
Dance
Step
Opportunity