Misty Copeland Says Good-bye to ABT
Wednesday night marked a glorious (if not bittersweet) finale for Misty Copeland’s long-running career with American Ballet Theatre. After 25 years with the company, where she was crowned its first-ever Black principal ballerina in its 75-year history, Copeland announced in June that she’s hanging up her tutu. ABT honored the pioneering dancer at its fall gala at the Lincoln Center, drawing industry titans Oprah Winfrey and Debbie Allen to sing Copeland’s praises onstage. “Misty didn’t just perform ballet,” Winfrey said during her speech, per NPR. “She changed it. She redefined who belongs, who gets to be seen, and who gets to lead.”
It’s been five years since we last saw an ABT performance from Copeland, who had taken some time away from the company to raise her 3-year-old son, Jackson, with her husband, write several books, and continue advancing diversity initiatives in ballet through the Misty Copeland Foundation. For her final jaunt with the company — part comeback, part farewell — Copeland returned to her favorite role, Juliet, alongside her Romeo, Calvin Royal III, ABT’s first Black male principal dancer in two decades. She then danced “Wrecka Stow” by Kyle Abraham and closed out the show with Twyla Tharp’s “Sinatra Suite,” which she performed with her longtime dance partner, Herman Cornejo. Following her final bow, Copeland, now 43, was pelted with bouquets and golden glitter.
It’s impossible to overstate Copeland’s impact on ballet, which was widely considered a shockingly white and Eurocentric art form until she stepped into the industry. Copeland’s arrival changed everything: She ushered in a new era for young girls of color, who suddenly saw themselves reflected on one of the biggest stages in the world. Not only was she technically excellent, but she fought ceaselessly throughout her time in the ABT to create more opportunities for Black women in ballet, like raising awareness about flesh-colored pointe shoes that only matched the skin of pale white women.
Stepping away from the company marks a well-deserved retirement from ballet, and Copeland seems ready to take things a little slower. “It’s been 25 years at ABT, and I think it’s time for me to move to the next stage,” she told the AP over the summer. But she isn’t going away: “I’ve become the person that I am today, and have all the opportunities I have today, because of ballet, because of American Ballet Theatre,” she added. “I feel like this is me saying ‘thank you’ to the company. So it’s a farewell, but it won’t be the end of me dancing.”
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