Misty Copeland

I actually feel very

Calm and low.

I don't know if that makes any sense.

It's a reminder, too, of kind of all the stages of recovery after performance that I feel like I forgot because it's been years.

One of my favorite things about, you know, what I do is, of course, is going on stage.

But then there's something so special that happens after the fact, you know, of kind of coming down and letting your body really feel all that you put into it to get to that point.

And then just being grateful for it after.

And I'm trying to...

let myself enjoy this kind of recovery process before I start to feel normal again.

Yeah, it's been over five years.

I think the last time I was actually performing on stage with American Ballet Theatre was December of 2019.

And I started preparing October of last year.

So it was a very gentle preparation.

Towards the end of the year, like October through the end of the year, and then come January, I really started to really hone in on the ballet aspect of things because before it was really just getting my body back in some sort of shape because I really wasn't doing anything over the last five years.

No, and not a lot of physical activity either.

Oh, wow.

You know, at the beginning of 2020 when I just felt like I needed to pause and really figure out what was going to make me feel fulfilled and good about using all that I've built, you know, my voice and my platform and my reach.

I've always just really listened to myself and my instincts and my gut about what felt real and authentic to me, which is why I stepped away when I did, because it was no longer feeding, I guess, a part of myself that felt necessary.

I've never been someone that has kind of fed off of the...

the accolades or the applause.