American - Dancer | September 10, 1982 -
I say over and over again that I am just standing on the shoulders of so many who have set this path for me, and they may not be seen or recognized or have been given an opportunity to have a voice, but I'm here representing all of those dancers. Dance Theatre of Harlem Virginia Johnson, Tai Jimenez, Lauren Anderson.
Misty Copeland
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Every time I dance, I'm trying to prove myself to myself.
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More often than we realize, people see in us what we don't see in ourselves.
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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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Finding ballet was like finding this missing piece of myself.
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To be empathetic to everyone around you, I think, is such a powerful thing to hold.
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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.
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I'm definitely influenced by the music. We dance to music, and you have to listen to it and phrase your dancing and movement in a certain way to compliment the music. We have to work hand in hand, the dancer and the music.
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Perseverance has always just been something that was in me. And it was a tool that came in very handy as a ballerina.
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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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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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That something that I fought so hard for throughout the beginning of my career is I didn't want to pancake my skin a lighter color to fit into the... ballet. I wanted to be myself. I didn't want to have to wear makeup that made my nose look thinner.
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