“You can start late, look different, be uncertain, and still succeed.” This inspiring quote by Misty Copeland is a small glimpse into her world and what it has been like. A positive attitude and unwillingness to give up is bound to lead to success, right? Success, however, is not easy for everyone. Misty Copeland is an inspiring figure in American ballet and culture because of the challenges she’s faced as a child, the hard work she’s put into achieve her dreams, and the works she continues to do in the ballet world. Misty Copeland seems like the type of person who had a very nice childhood, but that is not the case. She went through lots of hardships growing up. She was born to the parents of Doug Copeland and Sylvia Delacerna …show more content…
on September 10, 1982 in Kansas City, Missouri. She is 4th of 6 children whose names are: Douglas Jr., Christopher Ryan, Lindsey Monique, Erica Stephanie, and Cameron. Their family is of mixed German, African American, and Italian descent. Misty spent most of her time growing up in San Pedro, California although where exactly changed due to her mom’s relationship status. “Copeland’s mother Sylvia Delacerna had several successive marriages and boyfriends, with the family packing up and moving under harried conditions at times” (“Misty Copeland Biography”). That was one of Misty’s main hardships. Eventually settling in San Pedro, Misty attended school at Point Fermin Elementary. Even at a young age she enjoyed dancing. “Copeland would perform dance routines at home to the songs of another icon, Mariah Carey, and eventually was chosen to be captain of her drill team at her middle school” (“Misty Copeland Biography”). That was one thing she did to take her mind off of her hardships. Misty’s success is the result of extremely hard work she has put in in order to achieve her dreams.
Her ballet journey began at 13 when her drill team coach suggested for her to attend ballet classes taught by Cindy Bradley at the local Boys & Girls Club. Cindy could see that Misty was very gifted and chose her to come to the San Pedro Ballet School to take ballet classes with her there. “Cindy pushed me from the very start, putting me in an advanced class to see if I could keep up with students who had been training for years. I could, and I did” (Copeland 43). She ended up moving in with Bradley and her family to continue her training. During her first year at Cindy’s school, she was cast as Clara in The Nutcracker and one year later she was performing in Debbie Allen’s The Chocolate Nutcracker. After that performance, she got cast in her dream role as Kitri in Don Quixote put on by the San Pedro Dance Centre. Cindy also decided that Misty should enter competitions. “At age 15, she won first prize in the ballet category of the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Awards” (Blumberg). Next, she began auditions for summer programs where she received scholarships from every one she auditioned for except the New York City Ballet. They didn’t want her because she was black (Copeland 98). Misty ended up attending the San Francisco Ballet Summer Intensive and was offered to come study with them for the school year. Unfortunately, Misty’s mother wanted her to move back home and took …show more content…
Cindy to court for custody. Misty ended up moving back in to a motel with her family and went back to San Pedro High School, but her mother had found a studio where she could continue ballet, the Lauridsen Ballet Centre. Here is where Misty realized that “her technique needed some polishing” (Copeland 129). The next summer at age 16, she was offered a full scholarship to attend the summer intensive at the American Ballet Theatre – her dream company. At the end of the program, she was invited to join the studio company, but she turned it down to finish her senior year of high school. She was awarded the Coca-Cola scholarship which would pay for her pointe shoes and training back in California; and was also told she was guaranteed a spot in the company after graduating high school. At 18 years old, Misty moved 3,000 miles to New York City to begin living her dreams at the American Ballet Theatre. Misty continues to inspire with the work she does, not only in the ballet world but also as a role model.
A year after she joined ABT’s studio company she became part of the corps de ballet. By 2007, she was a soloist and was showcased in Marius Petipa’s La Bayadere; Alexei Ratmansky’s Firebird and The Nutcracker; and Twyla Tharp’s Sinatra Suite and Bach Partita (“Misty Copeland Biography”). In June of 2015, Misty became the first African American woman to ever be promoted to principal dancer in ABT’s history. She has gone on to perform with Prince, been in a commercial for Under Armour, been featured in several television programs, and received many awards. She has a passion for giving back. She works with charitable organizations; she mentors young boys and girls; and she has been appointed to President Obama’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. “Her trailblazing accomplishments have been recognized by a range of institutions and in spring 2015 she was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people, a rare feat for someone from the dance world” (“Misty Copeland Biography”). Misty is also a promoter of diversity in the ballet world and was on the committee for ABT’s Project Plié, which “offers training and mentorship to dance teachers in racially diverse communities around the country” (Blumberg). Misty is also an author of two books, has her own barbie, and has performed on
Broadway. Misty Copeland-one of the biggest names in the ballet world-not only for her race, but for her inspiration, passion, and big heart. Because of her, a whole new population has been introduced to the ballet world, the African American community. Even though Misty has already achieved many goals, she still continues to work hard and grow as a dancer and a person. Misty Copeland will forever be known in history as the first African American principal dancer at ABT (one of the top ballet companies in the U.S.) and will continue to be an inspiring figure in American ballet and culture. Works Cited: Blumberg, Naomi. “Misty Copeland.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 5 Oct. 2016, www.britannica.com/biography/Misty-Copeland. Accessed 30 Apr. 2018. Copeland, Misty. Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina. New York: Scholastic, 2014. Print. "Misty Copeland Biography." Biography.com. A & E Television Networks, n.d., www.biography.com/people/misty-copeland. Accesses 30 Apr. 2018
Born on December 1, 1977 in Miami, FL, Bryan's first musical influence was his mother, Pamela Cox, an instrumentalist who played the flute. It was her love and passion for the art that gave him his first taste of the music scene. "My mother would buy music instead of food when I was little. We would spend her entire paycheck at the record store." (Cox, 2008) At the age of seven, Bryan unveiled to his mother his musical aspirations and she began to prepare him for an eventual life and career in the field of music. She later moved the two of them to Houston, TX where she enrolled Bryan into the High School for the Performing Arts. While in his senior year, Bryan met then Freshman, Beyoncé Knowles, and young and talented girl who would later grow up to be worldwide megastar. It is with Beyoncé that Bryan created his first demo tape and with a budding nod of approval from Beyoncé's father, Matthew Knowles, Bryan set out on his musical path.
According to Katherine, “A creative person has to create. It doesn’t really matter what they create. If such a dance wanted to go out and build the cactus gardens where he could, in Mexico, let him do that, but something that is creative has to go on. (Katherine, Dunham, Dancing a life, 2002)”. It has been said that an idol is someone whom everyone looks up to because of the great things they accomplished throughout their life span. Acknowledged as an African American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, civil activist and writer. Katherine Dunham, not only normally known for the generous acts of kindness but also for the huge impact she had in incorporating different dance styles and creating them into her very own ballet pieces. An influential woman who supported African American culture and believed there shouldn’t be any divisions between people. Not completely another mother of modern dance but a women who greatly influenced modern dance to enhance it in many ways. Katherine is and was famous for her anthropology movement in the world of dance, her creativity and dedication.
She got to work with Ted Shawn which was where she improved her dance techniques and also where she began dancing as a professional. Ted Shawn p...
Her lasting career was not given to her easily, therefore, creating an inspiring story full of hardships and success. Ever since she was a little girl, her dream was to become a successful and famous dancer. In New York City, when she was trying to fulfill her dream, she was unable to find a job in the theatre department. Instead of being discouraged, she decided to make something good come from it. She choreographed her own routines, created her own costumes, and organized solo recitals for audiences to enjoy. This event led her to the biggest adventure in her life that would later impact the world. She was invited to return back to London to pursue her education in the performing arts, so that she could further improve her talents that would make up her entire career.
At eleven years old, she was discovered by Gus Edwards and performed in a dinner show called the Vaudeville Kiddie Revue. In her teenage years she could often be found dancing in clubs. Then, she started auditioning for Broadway shows. The reason she started tap dancing was because the fact that every audition she went to, she was asked to tap dance. So, she enrolled in the Jack Donahue School in New York. After her first class, she didn’t want to come back because she felt so behind. Jack called her and told her to come back, so she did. By her seventh lesson, she was finally getting good.
The moment when my ballet teacher, Olga, declared that I was ready to go en pointe was a moment I would remember. We were in the studio, looking at our reflection in the mirror and standing at the ballet barre.
Balanchine's mother took himself and Andrei along with her to Tamara's audition to Maryinksky School of Ballet. His mother thought it would be a great opportunity if he auditioned as well. The results of the audition changed Balanchine's life forever. He was accepted and Tamara was not. That audition proved he had a natural gift for the art of dance. At this school, he fell in love with dance and performance. He thrived in its atmosphere.
After a while at being at the academy, Li got to know his teachers and they saw a lot of potential in Li’s ballet skills. They told him a lot of legends and stories that made Li want to practice and work hard at ballet and become better at it. “Sit down, I want to tell you a story”. Li trained hard, day and night, getting advice from teachers and students on how to improve, “I worked hard and listened to what they said”. Li pushed through injuries just so he could get better at ballet in hopes to get his name out there but most importantly making his family proud. “My rapid improvement surprised my teachers and classmates”. Therefore, by improving on his ballet it shows that Li has a lot of determination in getting better at ballet every day and he is getting more independent in this whole process of training and
The fine art of modern dance is like many other fields in that it is based on the actions and deeds of those who were pioneers in the field. These pioneers helped to mold modern dance into what it is today. Of the many people who are partially responsible for this accomplishment is Isadora Duncan. Duncan, often referred to as the “mother of modern dance,” inspired many other dancers to the extent that the art of dance would not be the same today without her many contributions.
Ballet is an athletic art form that utilizes muscle control, flexibility, and physical strength. It requires extreme discipline from the dancers and takes an extreme amount of mental concentration. This discipline causes dancers to have success throughout life and specifically in academic studies. There are many ways that dance can affect the success of a person’s life; however, there are two in specific that make dancers generally more successful. To begin, ballet causes dancers to be self-motivated workers; dancers cannot rely on others to push them to be better, but must have the drive within themselves.
The new dancers wanted their movements to be authentic and to tell a story. An example of this is Isadora Duncan, a dancer and choreographer of the 20th century, when “in 1904 [she] established a school in Grunewald, Germany (and others in France and Russia), in which pupils were trained through gymnastic exercises and encouraged to express themselves through movement” (Kassing). Duncan inspired dancers to unravel themselves in their own movements, and to use the music and nature as a muse: “My art is an effort to
The typical idea of a dancer is that they are tall, slender, full of energy, and lucky because they dance with all of the “stars”. Much of this is true, however, what many people do not think of are the many hardships that a dancer goes through in order to achieve their high status in the dance world. It takes much hard work and determination along with good direction to become a dancer. However, nothing good comes without a price. Dancers often times have many pressures put on them which can lead to physical and emotional damages. These damages occur through the pressures from the media, parents, teammates, and the stereotype that society has placed on dancers.
Aesha Ash was born on December 30, 1977 in Rochester, NY. At a young age, Aesha began taking tap and jazz classes; however, once she turned thirteen, she was allotted the opportunity to take ballet class at the School for American Ballet. Though she started later than most dancers who want to pursue a career as a prima ballerina, Ash worked extremely hard and was recognized for her talents in receiving the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise. At age eighteen, Ash joined the New York City Ballet, becoming one of the first African-American ballerinas to do so, and for the next seven and a half years of performing with the company, she would remain the only black ballerina. Aside from classical ballet, Ash also pursued film dancing, and in 2000, she appeared as Zoe Saldana's dance double in the movie Center Stage. Nonetheless, Ash's heart was forever with the thrills of live ballet, and in 2003, she left New York City Ballet to join Béjart Ballet in Lausanne, Switzerland, as a soloist. Despite her success in Switzerland, Ash often felt isolated, so after two years of working with the company, she returned to the U.S, and joined Alonzo King's LINES Ballet in San Francisco. Though she truly enjoyed working LINES Ballet, Ash believed that her true calling in life was engraved elsewhere. Inspired to change the standards of the ballet world and promote strength and beauty among young women of color, Ash
in order to succeed. Ballet should be recognized as a sport due to the fitness, dedication, and
Overall, Isadora Duncan was an amazing and revolutionary person. She discovered intense emotions and a strong spirituality within herself, within her soul. She transformed her discoveries into a dance in order to share it with the world.