About Misty Copeland
Copeland is the first Black woman in the history of the American Ballet Theatre to be promoted to the position of principal dancer, and she has performed some of the most iconic ballet roles, including Odette/Odile in Swan Lake; Juliet in Romeo & Juliet; Giselle; Manon; Coppelia; Kitri in Don Quixote; and Firebird.
Her production company, Life In Motion Productions, focuses on representative stories of artists past, present, and future in addition to normalizing the arts experience. Copeland, a New York Times best selling author, recently published The Wind At My Back, in tribute to her late mentor and friend, Raven Wilkinson, a pioneering ballerina.
Copeland is also an avid philanthropist, acting as an ambassador for both the Boys & Girls Club of America and Mind Leaps — an arts education program based in Rwanda that helps young people get off the streets and into an academic setting. In 2022 she launched the Misty Copeland Foundation, whose first signature program, BE BOLD, aims to broaden diversity, equity, and inclusion in dance. In 2021, Copeland received the Spingarn Medal, the highest honor of the NAACP.