Informative Essay On Copeland

Many traditional ballets such as Swan Lake, La Sylphide, and Sleeping Beauty are known as “ballet blanc” or white ballets. Many scenes of these ballets are performed in white tutus. Not only are many ballets “ballet blanc” but many ballet companies are as well. However, taking center stage of the ballet world is Misty Copeland, principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre (ABT). Copeland is an African American dancer who has turned the world of ballet on its axis. Through the use of her personal image, principal status, and initiative project, Misty Copeland has begun to make a once-exclusive industry a more accessible and approachable art form.
Misty Copeland is known as an “unlikely ballerina”. Of African American descent and “five foot
two and just over a hundred pounds”, Misty Copeland’s look does not align with the perceived ballerina look (Copeland 166). At first glance, many people would not believe that Copeland is a dancer which is the image she has begun to alter. Copeland has employed the use of her “unlikely” ballet body to encourage a change in the composition of many ballet companies.Misty Copeland is seen as “more buxom than most ballet dancers, and also more visibly athletic. A significant part of what distinguishes her is her un-classical body”(New Yorker 54). The article in the New Yorker does well to articulate the idea that Misty Copeland lacks the ballet body that is desired in many ballet companies. However, in an interview with James Ellis, Misty is quoted saying “The body of the ballerina is constantly evolving. You look back to the 1800s, and you see images, even Degas paintings, and the ballerinas are fuller. I think it evolves with the times, just like fashion does. And I think it also depends on the choreography that you're doing, which has become more athletic over the years”(Ellis 89). Copeland is using her unique to ballet body type to encourage change the perceived ideas of these long lean ballerinas. She speaks about the new athleticism of modern ballet and that a more athletic body can perform just as well as a stereotypical ballerina’s body. By excelling at the American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland has introduced a new topic of discussion on the inclusion of unique body types in the ballet world.
Not only has Misty’s body type been a new ballet topic of discussion her race has been noted as well.
Ballet companies are known as typically being composed of white dancers; however, Copeland has sparked the conversation of the lack of diversity in many ballet companies. Misty Copeland notes that when she joined the American Ballet Theatre she “was the only black woman in a company of 80 dancers”(Ellis 89). When Copeland was promoted to a soloist, the New York Times even took note publishing an article titled “Where Are All the Black Swans?”. When Misty was promoted to the first black female principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, some people thought it “would be wrong for ABT to give me such a promotion merely to appear more racially diverse and inclusive”(Copeland 251). Although some people will always believe Copeland was promoted at the American Ballet Theatre after coming under fire for the lack of diversity, it does not change the fact that the news of her promotion broke out of the exclusive ballet world. The news of her promotion was not only in dance magazines, but in newspapers and on television. Copeland broke the “ballet blanc” standards and opened the world of ballet up to a new audience who would have continued blissfully unaware of the classical ballet
world.
(Paragraph on her principal status)
Misty Copeland takes note that the excuse of “top, elite white companies is, ‘They're not out there for us to choose from’” when discussing the lack of diversity (Ellis 89). Copeland has helped kickstart a program to help solve the lack of diverse options when recruiting ballet dancers. The American Ballet Theatre’s Project Plié is a “partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America that will formalize the process that introduced me to ballet, bringing ABT-trained teachers to clubs across the country to scout for talented kids who might otherwise never set foot on stage”(Copeland 260). Copeland is the public figure for Project Plié. By introducing this program, Copeland has begun the change of the composition of ballet companies by providing children the opportunity to experience and excel in ballet. By increasing the area from rich, prominently-white areas to areas with more diversity, ballet companies will have a larger pool to pick elite dancers from. This movement that was helped created by Misty Copeland has the ability to change the racial composition of elite ballet companies and provide a more colorful ballet experience. Not only will the ballet companies become more diverse, but the audience viewing the ballet will also become more diverse. With the release of Misty Copeland’s casting as the Firebird, the dynamic of the typical ballet-going audience change. Many famous African American actors, writers, and artists began to purchase tickets to see Copeland perform the Firebird. With her casting in such an iconic role, Misty Copeland began to alter the reach of the ballet world. People of different backgrounds now enjoy the world of ballet which was previously elusive and out of reach.
Words: 899End of the document content.