Misty Copeland was the first Black principal dancer at the prestigious American Ballet Theatre.
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People lined up around the block at Lincoln Center in New York City last night. They were there to see Misty Copeland’s final performance. She is arguably the biggest celebrity in ballet. In 2015, she was the first Black female principal dancer at the storied American Ballet Theatre. And last night wasn’t just a retirement, it was also a return. NPR’s Andrew Limbong has more.
ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE: Before last night, it had been five years since Misty Copeland danced with the American Ballet Theatre, or ABT. In that time, she had a son, published a memoir, started a foundation to support diversity in ballet, started writing kids’ books. She was also in pain. Granted, that’s par for the course for ballerinas.
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MISTY COPELAND: Our goal is to tell the story, to make it look effortless, never to show any weakness or pain.
LIMBONG: This is Copeland on WHYY’s Fresh Air in 2022, talking about finding out that she had six fractures in her tibia. That was back in 2012, before she made history with ABT. And even then she knew what she represented as a rare, prominent Black woman in ballet. And so when a doctor sidelined her, it felt like more than just one ballerina out on injury.
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COPELAND: I felt like I had just cracked open this door for young Black and brown people to come in. And then if I wasn’t going to step on that stage again, it was just going to be shut again.
LIMBONG: That isn’t what happened, of course. She found a doctor to screw in a steel plate and she got back on stage, keeping that door for young Black and brown dancers open. But by 2019, she had her eye on a final bow. In that Fresh Air interview, she mentioned that she was still in pain, still working through it. And so last night’s performance was a return. But she told The Associated Press that there was still work to be done when it comes to diversifying dance.
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COPELAND: And that’s why I think it’s important right now at this moment for me to be more than just a body on the stage, but a voice beyond, in the board rooms.
LIMBONG: Fans, friends and family were all there to see Copeland off last night. And her final performance for them was Twyla Tharp’s “Sinatra Suite.” Andrew Limbong, NPR News.
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FRANK SINATRA: (Singing) Yes, there were times I’m…
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