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" 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. "

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" I think I get almost every piece of clothing that I buy altered and taken in just to fit me exactly the way it should. "

Misty Copeland

Think

Way

" I think body-image issues are not just a dancer thing. I think we're much more in tune and aware because the body is our instrument and art, and we stare at ourselves in a mirror all day, but I feel like it's something that every woman experiences and every girl experiences. "

" 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! "

" The ballet world I don't think is an art form that is quick to change or to adjust or evolve. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" I think I'm pretty laid back. I like cooking, being at home, and going to concerts. And I love to shop! "

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

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

" Finding ballet gave me passion for the first time in my life. I was always very shy and just wanted to fit in; I never daydreamed about what I wanted to be when I grew up. But dancing gave me a connection to my personality that made me grow. "

" 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. "

" At least in my performances, the audience has become so diverse in a way that I don't think ballet has ever experienced. "

" A young girl reached out to me to be her mentor one day, which I didn't really know anything about. What I did remember was what it was to be alone as an African-American dancer in the ballet world and wanting to connect with someone who looks like me. "

Misty Copeland

World

Day

" 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. "

" 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. "

" '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. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

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

Misty Copeland

Been

Guide

" Don't hold on to the barre like, 'I might die.' It's just ballet. "

" 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. "

" Perseverance has always just been something that was in me. And it was a tool that came in very handy as a ballerina. "

Misty Copeland

Always

Tool

" 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

" 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. "

" 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. "

" All you can do is be your best self. I've always felt that I had to be that much more aware of how I present myself. I'm representing more than just me. I think every person should think that way. "

" 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. "