Copeland says her final performance with American Ballet Theatre was a thank you to the communities that had supported her. "What I represented is something far bigger than me," she says. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about her final bow, her relationship to pain, and the legacy of Black ballet dancers. Also, David Bianculli reviews the new Peacock thriller series ‘All Her Fault,’ starring Sarah Snook. Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the scenes. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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This is Fresh Air. I'm Tanya Mosley. When Misty Copeland stepped onto the stage at Lincoln Center, golden confetti rained down as she took her final bow with American Ballet Theater. After years away from performing, she returned to dance Juliet one last time and spin through Twyla Tharp's Sinatra Suite, closing a chapter that began over two decades ago.
It was a farewell to a company where she made history as the first Black woman promoted to principal dancer in ABT's history. By ballet standards, Copland came to the art form late, at 13 years old. It was the culmination of a journey that began not in a traditional ballet academy, but in a boys' and girls' club gym, where a shy teenager first discovered what her body could say through movement.
Copland rose through ABT's ranks to dance the roles that define classical ballet. Odette Odile in Swan Lake, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and the title role in Firebird. But her impact extends far beyond technique and tradition.
As a best-selling author, film producer, and founder of the Misty Copeland Foundation, her goal is to build pathways for children who've never seen themselves reflected on the ballet stage. Now as Copeland steps away from ABT, she's turning her focus from performance to transformation, working to remake an art form that has for centuries defined beauty through exclusion.
Misty Copeland, welcome back to Fresh Air. And it's a pleasure to have you as you enter this new chapter in your life.
Thank you. I'm excited to be here.
You never wanted a farewell performance, but you got one. I mean, there's a 15-minute standing ovation. How are you feeling now that it's over?
Yeah, it's so interesting to just kind of process all that I'm feeling. 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.
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