- 1 hour ago
No one embodies the word 'grace' quite like Misty Copeland. After discovering ballet at age 13, she went from classes at the local Boys â& Girls Club (an organization she is still deeply involved âwith âtoday) to becoming the first Africanâ âAmerican principal dancer for the renowned American Ballet Theatre. We sat down with the world's most beloved prima ballerina to hear her story of personal discovery, of struggle, and how through it all, Mariah Carey will always be by her side.
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00:01Welcome to Unstyled. I'm your host, Christine Barbrick, co-founder and global editor-in-chief
00:06of Refinery29. Each week, I invite a notable person to come in and talk with us as we explore
00:13the funny, inspiring, sometimes heartbreaking tales of life, work, and love, as told through
00:19the things that we wear. Misty Copeland's story is pretty much the stuff of legend. She's been
00:32called the Jackie Robinson of ballet, while others describe her as a real-life Cinderella.
00:37The truth is, she's both, but a whole lot more, too. Misty didn't come from a traditional dance
00:43background. She was 13 the first time she took a free ballet class at a local boys and girls club.
00:48Until then, her only training was inventing dance routines while listening to Mariah Carey in her
00:53bedroom. Her childhood home was chaotic and crowded, as one of six children in a single-parent household.
01:00The family was living in a motel, and there simply wasn't time or money for things like formal dance
01:05training. But from that very first class, it was obvious that Misty had a serious dance destiny.
01:12The teacher, Cynthia Bradley, was astonished by her natural talent and took it upon herself to help
01:18her train. Soon, Misty was dancing in regional productions and drawing huge crowds. And yet,
01:26for all the buzz building up, there were also a lot of whispers. From the beginning, Misty faced
01:31constant criticism for her so-called look, her muscular body, her difficult hair, and of course,
01:38her brown skin. Was the conservative and very white dance world ready to embrace a black ballerina?
01:45Misty pushed ahead, eventually joining ABT, the prestigious American ballet theater. For years,
01:52she was the only black woman in the company. And as her star continued to rise, Misty felt a growing
01:58sense of purpose. She was determined to succeed, not only for herself, but for other young dancers of
02:04color being told they weren't the right type for ballet. In 2015, Misty made history when she became the
02:11company's first black principal dancer. Having achieved one of the highest honors a ballerina
02:18can earn, Misty is more determined than ever to use her platform wisely. She's written three books,
02:25including a children's book about a young black ballet student. She's spoken alongside President
02:30Barack Obama about America's ongoing battle for equality. Having won so many of her own, Misty is
02:36determined that the next generation won't have to fight so hard. And she does all this while keeping
02:42up with her rigorous training and performance schedule, which includes her starring role in
02:47the upcoming film release of Disney's The Nutcracker and The Four Realms coming out this November.
02:52Ballet is still her first love. It probably always will be. But now Misty dances with a mission.
02:59This, she says, is for all the little brown girls.
03:12Misty Copeland, it is such a pleasure to have you on UnStyle today. Thank you for being here.
03:16Thank you so much for having me.
03:18So I want to go back to sort of growing up in California as one of six children,
03:22number four and being raised by a single mom. That sounds like it might've been a bit of a chaotic
03:27household. Oh my God. But like, I would never take it back. I'm so happy now to have like all
03:34of my
03:34siblings. And, you know, again, so I was the last child from my mom's second marriage, which the
03:40first four from him, and he lives in Wisconsin now, but I was born in Kansas City, Missouri, where my
03:47mom
03:47was a professional cheerleader for the Kansas City Chiefs. And so that was kind of her, like she danced as
03:52a young girl. Ballet, tap, jazz, and then she ended up being a cheerleader.
03:57A professional cheerleader.
03:58A professional cheerleader.
03:59Yeah, not easy.
03:59I think she was like one of the youngest to be taken onto the team. But she is a huge
04:04like sports
04:05fanatic. So like she only wanted to do it so she could get like tickets to like for her and
04:10her mom
04:11to like watch the games and stuff.
04:13So she loves football.
04:14Yes.
04:15Really? Is she like decked in jerseys and all of that stuff and gets like season tickets and all that?
04:21It was like my worst nightmare. Like, yes, I was the one kid in my family that wasn't really,
04:27I don't know, like attached to anything, like no sports, like the only thing that I was obsessed with
04:33was Mariah Carey. Like that was my only passion in life.
04:36Well, who could blame you? Who could blame you?
04:39And I'm MC and she's MC.
04:42You know, I saw her at, um, at a restaurant once and I have to tell you when she walked
04:46in
04:47in her really, really high heels and she had very, very tight jeans on, but I have to tell you,
04:52I was starstruck. I was like, Oh my God.
04:56Yeah.
04:56She really like took my breath away.
04:58I mean, I don't know what I would do if I actually met her and we haven't met yet,
05:02but we were supposed to meet on many occasions. And this is about Misty, not Mariah.
05:07But it can be about her too.
05:09I mean, she was a huge influence on my life.
05:11Why?
05:11So when we left Kansas city, I was two years old and my mom left my father and just took
05:19all of us
05:19kids, the four of us. And then she married-
05:22Was that hard for you?
05:23I don't remember anything.
05:25Okay.
05:25Yeah. I was two and we moved to Southern California where she married her third husband
05:30and my little sister, Lindsay was born. Um, she's three years younger than me. And so Harold,
05:36uh, her father raised me. So that's like who I knew was my father. And then when I was seven
05:42years old, she divorced Harold and she married her last husband, Brian. And then we had Cameron,
05:48who's my youngest brother. And we're all just like very, I don't know, different. And so,
05:54yeah, it was just like a crazy upbringing, a lot of, you know, picking up and moving and always being
05:59like having to change schools. Like all of these things I think created this anxiety inside of me
06:06that made me extremely introverted when I think I already was naturally that way. And then just
06:11like the traumas of, you know, witnessing all of these different environments. And there was a lot
06:16of emotional and physical abuse as well. So I literally just became this like shell of a person.
06:22You mean observing your parents or your, your parents' relationships?
06:25Yes. Yeah. And so I was seven years old when we moved in with my stepfather, Brian. And that was
06:33the same year that Mariah Carey released her first album. And I think my oldest brother, Doug,
06:40was the one that told us about her. He's like, there's this biracial woman and she's, I think she
06:45was 19 and her voice is unbelievable.
06:48I think she was from Long Island.
06:50Yeah. So my little brother Cameron was also born that year and something weird, like, I don't know,
06:57he would cry whenever we'd get into the car and my mom would put Mariah Carey's tape in and he
07:03would
07:03just like, just stop crying. And it was just like this, she became ours. And also I think like she
07:09looked similar to my mother. And so I think not until I was an adult and living on my own
07:15and dancing
07:15professionally, did I realize like why she impacted me so much. And I think it was just being able to
07:21see myself in someone else. Being a biracial girl and my family being every ethnicity and seeing
07:28someone succeeding that looked like me, I don't think I realized like the power of representation
07:33at that point. So randomly last week, I decided to DM Mariah Carey.
07:37Oh my God. Did she DM you back?
07:39Yeah. I had a small heart attack and my husband had to FaceTime me because he literally thought I
07:43wasn't going to be okay. He's like, are you all right? Are you still alive?
07:46But just to like have, to be able to share. I talk about her all the time, so I'm sure
07:53she's
07:53heard the story. But to be able to share with her like that it's not about her celebrity. It's not
07:58about all of these things. It's literally having someone that I can see myself through, having
08:02representation. That's why she's had such a huge impact on me. So it was beautiful just to let her
08:08know. That is incredible.
08:10It's like how I relate to the youth now, you know, just like by me being a black woman on
08:17the stage
08:17of the Metropolitan Opera House, like simply by seeing that like a young brown kid can envision
08:24that that could be their future without even really consciously knowing it. But I feel like that was
08:29just kind of like, she just became like my everything until I discovered ballet at 13 years old.
08:35It sounds like she was really sort of this, like you could count on her, even though there was a
08:40lot
08:40of change and a lot of uncertainty. And I have to, I really can understand what you're talking about
08:46with your parents. I used to observe my parents fighting a lot. And it's not until much later when I
08:52think about it, that it just made me feel unstable. It made me, you don't realize how much kids feel
08:57like they need just to feel like there's stability and that they're safe and that, you know, nobody's
09:03going to sort of just one day disappear. But I think being in those environments, I think that
09:09having that kind of upbringing, my parents stayed together, you know, for their, throughout their
09:13marriage until my father passed away. But I think that growing up in that environment made me really
09:19tough. Absolutely. I think it made me very self-protective. And I think it also kind of
09:25made me have that same kind of shyness that you talked about, because you're so focused on observing
09:32everything around you and making sure that, you know, you're prepared if something goes wrong.
09:37Yeah. It's a way of protecting yourself. Yeah, I think so. So 13, you discovered dance.
09:43Yeah. And it was because you saw another dancer, right?
09:47I saw a gymnast.
09:48You saw a gymnast.
09:49Yeah. Okay.
09:50So Mariah Carey...
09:51We have to keep bringing her along throughout the entire episode.
09:55Oh, she's going to come along, believe me.
09:57I'm going to have a picture of you and a picture of Mariah together. It's like, it's the two
10:01of them. It's Misty and Mariah.
10:04Her music, it was the first time I started to create movement and I was choreographing and
10:10it was only to her music. So I would, that was kind of like my way of...
10:13What was your favorite song to dance to?
10:14I choreographed a dance to, I think, All In Your Mind. I've been thinking about you. And
10:20then later on, when I was 16 years old, I actually choreographed a dance to this song
10:24called Looking In. And it was actually shown on 2020 because they did a story on me. And
10:30at the end, I'm like dancing on the beach to Mariah's Looking In. And I was like so adamant
10:36about like dancing to that song. And it's just like hilarious. But she definitely, I think,
10:40inspired me to start dancing. And then I think around the age of maybe nine, I saw this Lifetime
10:47movie.
10:48About Mariah.
10:49No.
10:50I'm sorry. I gotta let it go.
10:51It's never gonna end.
10:52I'm sorry.
10:54I know. Sorry.
10:54So my niece was named Mariah after Mariah. When I was, I think I was 14 or 15.
11:00I can't take it.
11:01It's too much. Anyway, so I, and so I saw this Lifetime story on Nadia Comaneach, who was
11:07a gymnast. She was like the first gymnast.
11:09One of the greatest. She was one of the first gymnasts to sort of be a celebrity gymnast.
11:13Yeah.
11:14And I mean, in her story was-
11:15Olga Corbett too. Remember her?
11:16Yes.
11:16Yes, I do. But so that was the first time that I was like, I'd never seen classical dance.
11:21I'd never heard classical music. So I think seeing that, that movie and seeing her, I mean,
11:27I was especially drawn to the floor exercises. And I think now it was because it was the closest
11:31thing to classical dance that I'd ever seen. And so I, for whatever reason, I was so drawn
11:36to that. So I would go into my front yard when we lived with my father, Brian, who of
11:42all of my stepdads, he had like the most stable, like home environment. So we actually had a
11:47front yard and a backyard, which I, that was the only time in my life we did. And I would
11:51just start teaching myself how to do gymnastics and just like imagining, like, you know, performing.
11:57By yourself?
11:58By myself.
12:00Or did you have a friend?
12:01My siblings were my friends. And so I decided to audition for the drill team at my middle
12:08school when I was 12. I was about to turn 13. And of course, I, I think I created a
12:13dance
12:13to Mariah Carey. But when you audition for the captain, you have to learn the group number
12:17that everyone learns to audition for the team. But then if you're captain, you have to create
12:20your own dance as well. So I made a routine to George Michael, I want your sex.
12:28At 16?
12:2918? Or no, you're 12 and a half.
12:31Yeah. And I made captain.
12:33Did you have your boombox on the front steps just like going for it?
12:36Yes.
12:37Yeah. Everyone's like, what girl across the street? She's, I know. What's up in that house?
12:44And so that was really my first taste of like performing. I had done a talent show, I think,
12:49when I was five. And then I did another talent show when I was in elementary school. And of
12:53course, it was to Mariah Carey. My lips sing and danced. And I tortured these two girls that were
12:59my only friends. And they could not dance, had no rhythm. And I made them dance to Mariah Carey.
13:04But so I ended up making captain. I joined the drill team. And the coach at the time, her name
13:10was Elizabeth
13:10Kantine, who is now my godmother. She had danced her whole life, like professionally ballet, like
13:16every form of dance. And she was like, you have a lot more potential than just being on this drill
13:22team. I want to introduce you to someone who owns a local ballet studio here in San Pedro. And I
13:28was already
13:28attending the Boys and Girls Club. Me and my siblings did. While my mom was at work, that was
13:32like where we went to be safe, not on the street. And so the teacher, Cynthia Bradley, came to the
13:39Boys
13:40and Girls Club. And she had started this program where she was looking for more diverse students to
13:44bring into her school on full scholarship. So I was literally forced into taking this ballet class on
13:50the basketball court at my Boys and Girls Club. And she was like, I've never seen a talent like
13:56yours before. And I think a raw talent. Yeah, she's like, I think you're a prodigy.
14:01And she kept sending notes home with me to give to my mother to ask if I could come to
14:07her school.
14:08And I would never give them to my mom. I don't even think my mom knew I was taking the
14:11ballet
14:11class at the Boys and Girls Club. Like I just didn't offer up a lot of information at that time.
14:16And I didn't feel that serious about it until you knew what it was.
14:19Right. Yeah. And I didn't like it at first. You know, I was in gym clothes and I was in
14:24socks and I was
14:25on a basketball court and I was like, what is this crazy thing I'm doing called ballet? And I just
14:29didn't really feel any connection to it. And at that time, my mom had left her last husband and she
14:36was kind of dating different guys. And we were living in a motel at that time. So I feel like
14:42I was all of you, all of us. Yeah. Just with my mom, just in a one bedroom, like it
14:48was a living
14:49room, just one room with all of us kids. And we would just sleep on the floors. What was that
14:53like?
14:53Um, you know, I think that I was so used to keeping secrets. It was just normal. Like we
15:02never, no one ever knew what was going on in our, in our household. I didn't have any real close
15:07friends. I was just kind of existing and I would never like no one knew anything about our lives
15:13at home. So I, at that point was taking a bus back and forth, you know, to go to school.
15:19Cause it
15:20was no, we were no longer living in San Pedro. We were a bit further away, but so it was
15:24just
15:24like a lot happening at that time when I discovered ballet. And so it finally got to the point where
15:29she got our home number or whatever, or I don't know if it was my mom's work number. They ended
15:34up speaking on the phone and my mom agreed to let me go and start training with her at the
15:39actual
15:39ballet school. Um, after a couple of months, my mom was just like, this is too much. Like we're
15:44living in a motel where she had lost her job. We're on food stamps. She's like, ballet is the
15:49farthest thing from what we need to be focusing on. Like I need to just keep you guys in school
15:54and
15:54food on the table. So I went to. It's understandable. Yeah, absolutely. So I went to. She was probably
16:00terrified. Yes. I, yeah, absolutely. It was just a huge life change for all of us to be at that
16:07low
16:07of a point. Um, so we were together and we were, and that was what we had. It was each
16:12other. And
16:13I think that's what kept us strong. Like, you know, I think that we're all so strong because of
16:19having gone through everything we've had to go through and it's, and it's still shocking to this
16:23day. I think for all of my siblings that none of us ended up like in prison or like, you
16:29know,
16:29on the street, like we're all like successful people. And it's so crazy to think that we didn't
16:35really have any guidance at any point in our upbringing. But you stayed together. Yeah. And
16:39I think that that has a lot to do with it. And I think your mom probably, you know, despite
16:44the
16:44uncertainty of, you know, her working during that time, probably just really, you know, she created
16:49some kind of routine for you. Yes. I mean, there is an inner strength. In the absence of it. Yeah.
16:53That
16:53she always had that I think we just saw and it was just innate in us, like survival. Like there's
16:59no giving up. I love that. Yeah. There is no giving up. Yeah. There's no giving up. We never felt
17:03that
17:03that was like an option. The Unstyled podcast is made possible by Refinery29 and Aerie, your body
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17:59So it got to the point where I went to my ballet teacher, Cynthia, and I said, I can't take
18:04ballet
18:05anymore. Like it's too much. My mom has five other kids and she was like, okay, can I at least
18:09drive you
18:10home? And I was terrified to give her the address to the motel because she had no idea I was
18:16living
18:16there. So I gave her the address and she pulls up and she was just like in shock. She was
18:21like,
18:22this is where you live? And I was like, yeah. So she let me out of the car. I went
18:27upstairs and like
18:28that was the end of that. So I think it was maybe 10 minutes later she had left and she
18:32came back and
18:33there was a knock on the door and we were like, who is this? And my mom opened the door
18:37and they were
18:38like talking for a while and they were both kind of crying. I was off like sitting in a corner.
18:42I
18:42didn't know what was going on. And then my mom turned around and she was like, Cindy asked if you
18:47could live with her and train like intensely because she thinks you have the potential to be a
18:51professional dancer. And I was like, okay. And I literally like, we didn't have a lot of stuff.
18:56So I just had like my book bag and I put like a couple of things in there, like clothes
19:01that I had
19:01and left. That night? That night. And she didn't even tell her husband. She had a three-year-old son
19:08and she was, you know, it was like a new marriage and she had a three-year-old boy. Were
19:12you excited?
19:12Were you terrified? I didn't know what to think. I didn't know what to think. So we get to her
19:17home
19:17and, you know, she opens the door and she screams to her husband, Patrick, like, um, I'm home and
19:22Misty's going to live with us. And he was like, okay. That's it. And that was it. That's a discussion.
19:28Yeah. And so, I mean, it just kind of like, I fit in very easily. Like things just happened
19:34really naturally and it, they became my family. I lived with them for about three years and she's
19:39your godmother. No, that's Elizabeth who was the drill team. Yeah. Which she stayed a big part of
19:45my life. Like she was paying for my, my leotards and tights and pointe shoes and ballet slippers.
19:50And, you know, everyone was just like contributing to getting me to the point where Cindy thought I
19:55could go. And so it was around, I think I was 15 when I went away to my first summer
20:02intensive
20:02program. So I'd only been dancing, I think a year and a half or so. And I was given a
20:07full scholarship
20:08from the San Francisco ballet school. It was my first time I think leaving home. And I went away
20:12and I spent like two months in San Francisco. It was so new to me still ballet. Like there was
20:19vocabulary. I still didn't even know like steps I hadn't learned, but they brought me in and they put
20:23me in the highest level of the class, like of the program, which all of the people around me were
20:28like, what is going on? Why is this girl in this class? Meanwhile, I don't even think I realized,
20:34but I was the only black girl as well. And so at the end of the summer, I was offered
20:39a place to stay
20:41and live in San Francisco at 15 to train with their school full time. And my mom was like, no,
20:49you're not capable of doing any of that on your own. Like you need to come back home.
20:53And so when I got back home, that's when all of the kind of chaos broke out and my mom
20:58didn't want
20:58me living with Cynthia anymore. And so- Why do you think that is?
21:02I think she just felt like it had become more than just training. I think she just felt like she
21:07was
21:07like losing me, that I had become a part of this other family. And that was like a terrifying feeling,
21:15I think for her. Like losing- Was it scary for you?
21:17No. I was like, you're both my family. I love it. Like I was loving life for the first time.
21:21I was
21:22growing and- I have to be honest. I think I would probably be a little bit territorial as your
21:26mom
21:27was too. I'm sure it was incredibly scary to her. Yeah. Yeah. And you know, I, yeah, there's so many
21:34things that I understand why she felt that way. So Cynthia spoke to me and we, well, I don't know
21:42if it was we, I don't think I completely understood what I was saying yes to, but that I was
21:45going to
21:46emancipate myself. Um, and so it ended up becoming this mess and it was very, very public and it was
21:56like
21:56very traumatic. It was like all over, I mean, it was like news, like everywhere all over the world. And,
22:05you
22:05know, I was in court, my mom was trying to get a restraining order against the family and we ended
22:10up, so it was
22:11just like very public. And to me, that was like the most like horrifying thing. You know, I ended up
22:16going, cause I took, I think two years off, two or three years off from school and I was doing
22:20independent studies so that I could train all day. And so I had to go back to my public school
22:26and now
22:26everyone knew everything about my life where before it was like, no one knew anything. It was my thing
22:31that I didn't have to like share with anyone. Secrets. It was my secret. Yeah. And so I think one
22:36of the
22:36most like mortifying times in my teen years was 16 and I was in high school again and my mom
22:44wanted us
22:45to go on the Lisa Gibbon show and it was just a disaster, you know. You mean like in a
22:50reality show
22:51kind of way? It was a talk show. Yeah. No, I remember it, but it was like that, it was
22:55that sort of
22:55reality-ish talk kind of trend. Yeah. Right. Yes. Um, and to me, like, so I was walking through the
23:03halls
23:04of my high school and I found out that like the teachers and like most of the classrooms like
23:09stopped class and allowed the students to watch the episode and it was just like, it was way too
23:16much for me to handle. That's upsetting. Yeah. Not professional at all and not protective of you
23:23and the fact that you were a minor and probably didn't really even want to go on the show. No,
23:27I didn't. Yeah. So there was just, there was so much stuff that I think prepared me for being a
23:34professional dancer. You know, having gone through all of that, the following summer I was given a full
23:39scholarship to come to New York City. So I was 16 to train with American Ballet Theater summer
23:44intensive program. Were you clearly emancipated at this point? No, it never. Okay. I dropped the
23:50emancipation. Everything ended up, you know, my, they went their way. I no longer had a relationship
23:56or spoke with, with my ballet teacher or her family. I was hard for you. Oh, it was extremely
24:01difficult. And Mariah Carey got me through a lot of those times. I remember like going, I mean, it was,
24:06it was a lot to handle because when I left Cindy, I had to go back to and live at
24:10the motel. So it was
24:12just like this crazy change. It was, it was a lot. And I, you know, at the time I think
24:17I was so young,
24:17I didn't really understand. And so I just had a lot of resentment towards my mother. And so I would
24:21lock
24:21myself in the, you know, the only room that I could go to where I didn't, you know, it was
24:26one
24:26room with all of us kids. And so I would lock myself in the bathroom for hours and I would
24:31just
24:31listen to Mariah Carey like over and over and over again. And she was like that, like you're saying
24:35that that one constant stability that I had in my life. It's like a trigger for you. So you kind
24:40of go
24:40back to a safe place. Exactly. And it's really interesting because to this day, if I'm like taking a bath
24:45and my husband, here's Mariah Carey on, he opens the door and he's like, is everything okay?
24:51I guess that's like what like keeps me like calm and sane. That's just like my go-to. That's like
24:59a comforting thing. I can imagine. But we ended up leaving the motel. We had help from people from
25:05my godparents and everything. We ended up getting an apartment in San Pedro. So I was close to my high
25:10school. I finished out my high school. I was 17, I think when I graduated, but I was in
25:15New York City with American Ballet Theater training when I was 16. And they offered me
25:19a position to stay in New York and be a part of their studio company, which is like the junior
25:25company that prepares you to be a professional. So there's six girls and six boys and you travel
25:29the United States and perform. And my mom was like, no. And I was like, oh my God, what's going
25:34on?
25:34This is my dream. She's like, you're not ready. So I went back home. I finished high school.
25:38Did you think you weren't ready?
25:40No. I mean, at that time I was like, I'm in New York. I'm going to do this. But of
25:43course,
25:44like, I mean, I, there were so many skills I was lacking, but even with that extra year
25:49in high school, I still hadn't like grown into the person I should have become. You know,
25:54I think that because of all the trauma and everything, like I was so underdeveloped as
25:59a person. It was so interesting because as an artist and as a dancer, I had like blossomed
26:04so quickly. And then I had no like communication skills. Like there was so many things I couldn't
26:10do. So I think my mom knew that.
26:13Do you think the, the rigor and the discipline that's demanded of, of dancers was somehow like
26:19comforting to you?
26:21Yeah.
26:21Like the, the routine and having this sort of like.
26:24It was the first time I had that in my life.
26:26I can understand that.
26:28And I just like held onto that and it was just like, I needed that structure. Yeah. And I think
26:34that it helped me to grow immensely by having that in my life. So I ended up graduating high
26:40school. My mom made me come home and go to prom. She's like, I want you to be a normal
26:44kid. And I
26:45was like, I do not want to go. It was like one of the worst nights. I was like, please
26:49don't make
26:49me out.
26:50I know. I actually really like loathe the prom too.
26:53So the first, the first ballet I ever performed in was the Nutcracker when I was 13, when I first
26:59started dancing. And I performed the role of Clara. And I think I'd been dancing for eight
27:03months, which is crazy. I was on point and everything. The following year I did the role
27:07of the Sugar Plum Fairy. So it was a huge part of my, my life from a young.
27:13Such a beautiful story too.
27:14I know. And then I ended up doing it when I was 15. Debbie Allen, she has a school in
27:20Los Angeles
27:21and she had her own version of the Nutcracker that she created. And at the time it was called
27:26the Chocolate Nutcracker. So it was like, it was the first time I was surrounded by black dancers.
27:31I'd never been in that environment before.
27:33She's still, she's still, yep. She's still going strong. She's still dancing and doing
27:37choreography too.
27:38Yeah. TV, producing everything. Yeah. I see her often whenever I'm there in LA.
27:42Oh, that's wonderful.
27:43Yeah. And her and her family have been huge supporters of mine from the beginning.
27:47I can imagine.
27:48Yeah. She's awesome. But so that was the first time that I was on stage again with like a black
27:53cast.
27:54When was this exactly?
27:5795?
27:58So a while ago.
27:58No, no, it was, it was a long time ago. I was 15, 15 and 16.
28:02That's amazing that she was really pushing that agenda and making sure that, you know,
28:06that black dancers were being seen and did have a platform.
28:09I mean, yeah, she's always been really good about doing that. And to this day, but so yeah,
28:16I performed on stage and she, instead of having Uncle Drosselmeyer as the character, she was
28:21aunt, I don't know what her name was, but she played that character as a woman. And I had
28:27to, I had like lines where I had to like memorize lines and speak with Debbie Allen on stage.
28:33And it was terrifying.
28:35I mean, how did you prepare for it?
28:37I don't even remember.
28:37No.
28:37I have, I like blocked it out.
28:40You're like, just don't pass out.
28:41Yeah. Right.
28:42And then I get through it.
28:43And I wouldn't do something like that again in my life until I had already become a principal
28:48dancer and I was in the Broadway show on the town. But that's not what we do as dancers. We
28:52don't speak, especially on stage. But so the nutcracker was always like a really big part of
28:58my dance career. And so I graduated high school. I moved to New York permanently and joined the
29:05company. And the first injury that I had that I learned so much from, I was in the company only
29:11for a year. And I was, so I was in the court of ballet and I was given the opportunity
29:16to learn
29:17the lead in the nutcracker, the role of Clara, which is unheard of when you're that soon in a
29:24person's career. And so I was just like, oh my God, this is like, it's full circle. And so I
29:30was
29:31rehearsing during our off time because the artistic director, Kevin McKenzie, really wanted me to be
29:36prepared. And I ended up getting a stress reaction in my lower lumbar of my back. So I ended up
29:42having
29:42to pull out of the season. And I was not dancing for a year to have my back heel. I
29:49was wearing a
29:49back brace like 23 hours a day. And it was really interesting because I feel like I learned so much
29:57during that time. Like I, I spent a lot of time back in California. I've, I got my driver's license.
30:03I worked on a lot of those other skills that you said that you were kind of missing before.
30:07Yeah. Yeah. And so when I came back to ABT, um, you know, there was a lot happening. Like I
30:13think
30:13the doctors thought that I got the fracture because I wasn't menstruating, which is normal. Like I was
30:19really, really tiny and super athletic. And so they thought that it's dangerous. Like she may get
30:25another one. So we need to put her on the pill so she can, you know, get her period, which
30:29I think
30:30was a huge mistake. So, you know, back then it was just like. How old were you at this point?
30:33Maybe 19. Had you not gotten your period up until then? No. Which is normal for a lot of athletes.
30:39Okay. So it wasn't, you know, no one was concerned. Okay. Yeah. But this doctor thought maybe that's
30:44why I was getting fractures. So within a month, I gained 10 pounds from being on birth control. It was
30:51traumatic because I, you know, I went from being this, like having this ideal body for ballet,
30:58like everything about my proportions. And then all of a sudden I'm a double D and I'm bigger. So I
31:04go
31:04back to ABT and it was like a whole different experience. I never was offered the role of Clara
31:09again, maybe for another 15 years. So it was just like a, so the Nutcracker is a lot of different,
31:16you know, I have a lot of emotions around the ballet.
31:19So tell us a little bit about, so this film comes out in November, November 2nd. Yes. And
31:24you're starring in this, in this film alongside some pretty incredible people. Never dreamed in my
31:30life that Helen Mirren, Karen Knightley, Morgan Freeman, Mackenzie. I mean, what was it like, you
31:38know, being able to have this sort of moment happen, you know, that you kind of couldn't have
31:43happen earlier because of some of these other complications, but now you're doing it in a way
31:48that's like, so, so big and so on your own terms. Yeah. You know, first of all, this is not
31:53like how
31:54I saw my path. You know, my goal was ABT and just getting there was like, I've, this is it.
32:01This is
32:01everything I've wanted. So having all of these other opportunities, it's just like, oh my gosh,
32:05I can't believe it's happening. But it's also, you know, I don't ever attach myself to things that
32:11I'm not passionate about or that makes sense for me. And of course, when they came to me about,
32:15you know, it's based on the book. So it's not the ballet story. But they were like, we can't have
32:20a
32:20Nutcracker film and not have ballet in it. And so they created a role for me where I'm dancing in
32:26it.
32:26But I think the most powerful thing is that this Disney movie, I think will live on forever. And
32:33it's a brown ballerina in the film. And to me, that's the most like impactful and unbelievable
32:38thing that I could contribute to it. So it's, it's pretty crazy.
32:43That's awesome. That is incredible. Yeah.
32:45The one thing I'd really love to know is just like, how the discipline of dance really sort of
32:49like extends throughout your life. You know, is it difficult now? Because you dance a lot. You are
32:54very, your body is, is really sort of, you know, taxed, you know, given how much you practice and
33:00train. What are some things that you do to just like really like feel good and to sort of feel
33:05energized and to sort of feel comforted and yeah, and taken care of?
33:10I take ballet class almost every morning. Because it not only do I have to to warm me up for
33:16the
33:16rehearsal day or just to keep my technique like, you know, fine tuned and my body fine tuned. It's
33:23also like very meditative thing for me. That's like, it's like a ritual. You know, I do it every
33:29morning. It keeps me centered and balanced. There's no phone. It's just the piano, classical music in my
33:34body. And so I feel like as a dancer, ballet is just the best thing you can do. I know
33:40that there
33:40are lots of trends and, you know, bar workouts and stuff, but it's like, just go take a ballet
33:44class. You won't have to do anything else. Do you think it's because you become so in tune with your
33:49body? Because all the sort of movements are so controlled and they're so specific and special?
33:56You know, I would think that I've never taken a ballet class, but I've always wanted to because
34:00there's something obviously so beautiful about it, but you're so in your body.
34:04Yeah. The smallest of movements and muscles that, you know, you know, I say we are athletes,
34:10but I don't know the attention to detail and what we have to do. Like you can't really take that
34:15much
34:15time off because you lose it so quickly. It's not like, you know, the, the big muscles that a lot
34:20of athletes use, like there's so many tiny little muscles, even within our feet, the bottoms of our feet
34:25and how to articulate our toes and being on point. And there's just so much involved in like the
34:30investments that we put into our bodies. And so it's, it's amazing to be able to have these
34:37opportunities like being with Under Armour and to be put on the same platform as a Stephen Curry or a
34:44Tom Brady or The Rock. And, you know, as a, as a black ballerina, it's like, I feel like it's
34:49the
34:49first time that Americans are really seeing all that it takes to be a ballet dancer, you know,
34:54that we're athletes and it's not easy. We're not just out there trolling around in a tutu,
34:59which I think a lot of people assume, but, you know, because we really think so. If you've ever
35:04seen a live performance of dance, you know, a lot of them haven't. So, and I think that these are
35:08opportunities for me to get them in the door, you know, when they see like, Oh, like there's more
35:13to it. And, you know, there's, it's a talent and a strength to be able to make it look effortless.
35:19And so it's, I think even more difficult than any sport I can think of. But to me,
35:24that's just been so much a part of my message. And what I've wanted to do is just diversifying
35:28classical dance, bringing more people into the theater, because I think once they're in there,
35:32they'll fall in love with it. And so I just feel like that's what I was born to do.
35:37You're very, very good at it. Misty Copeland, it's such a pleasure to have you on UnStyled today.
35:42Thank you for being here and congratulations on the film.
35:51I hope you're inspired after hearing Misty's story. For even more UnStyled extras, check out
35:57Refinery29 or my Instagram at Christine Barbrick. You can also join the conversation using the hashtag
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36:20newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every week. Our show today was executive produced by
36:25Bridget Todd, associate produced by Rebecca Easley, and edited by Priscilla Mena. Copy support was provided
36:32by Kelsey Miller. Our theme music today is by the artist Koff. We'll see you back here next Monday
36:38for a conversation with Lena Dunham. See you then.