Misty Copeland

Misty Copeland was born in Kansas City, Missouri but spent most of her childhood in southern California. Misty was first introduced to ballet at classes held at a local Boys & Girls Club in her community.

Copeland had become the captain of her school's drill team, and the coach had recommended that she try to study dance. Copeland was a quick learner, deemed a prodigy and was en pointe as a ballerina after only 3 months of study.

Only 5 months later she was cast as Clara in the Nutcracker, drawing over 2,000 patrons per show, and capturing the attention of the Los Angeles media. Due to her mother's many relationships, the family moved around a great deal, and, rather than force Copeland to give up ballet, her teachers agreed to host her.

This decision caused problems involving an emancipation suit, restraining orders and custody battles, but legal proceedings were ultimately dropped, and Copeland returned home with her mother and began studying ballet under the tutelage of a former member of the American Ballet Theatre. Copeland herself joined the ABT in 2000, after a number of summer workshops, and was made a corps de ballet member in 2001.

She was a soloist with the company by 2007 and in 2015 she became the first African-American woman in the theatre's history to be made principal dancer. Copeland wrote two autobiographical books about her experiences, and was the narrator of "A Ballerina's Tale" (2015), a documentary about the challenges she faced in pursuit of her dreams.