After 14 years with the company, Misty Copeland has become the first Black principal ballerina in the American Ballet Theater's 75 years.
Her promotion comes after almost 8 years of dancing as a company soloist, the New York Times reports. With her New York Times Best-selling memoir Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina and recent debut as the first Black dancer to perform as Odette/Odile in “Swan Lake” at the Metropolitan Opera House with Ballet Theater (pictured above), Copeland has solidified her position as one of the most influential ballerinas in America.
Congratulations, Misty!
Joneka Percentie is a junior studying Mass Media Communications, Africana Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies at UNC Charlotte. When she’s not working with SPARK Movement, or tweeting @jpercentie, she enjoys singing, dancing, and sleeping. Email her at joneka.percentie@forharriet.com