Misty Copeland, who covers the September issue of Essence, reveals in the magazine that she is engaged to her boyfriend of ten years, Olu Evans.
The couple met in a New York City club in 2004 and Copeland considers Evans her first real boyfriend.
The dancer, who became the first African-American female principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre, shared with Vanity Fair about what she wanted in a wedding dress.
"I’d like to show my figure, somewhat - romantic and elegant. I don’t think I want to go super poofy or anything like that. It’s very different for a performer, a ballerina, someone who is onstage a lot and wears big costumes. So it's not like this is my chance to be that way, because that's something I do every day, almost. I want to feel like myself - but more beautiful than I do every day."
Copeland spoke of her relationship with Evans, a 37-year-old corporate attorney, at the The Starfish Foundation's PowHERful Summit in July. "I always said 'no man is coming in and taking me away from ballet.' And that was so important to me that the person I ended up with was going to support me in every way, because my career is so important to me... And I knew immediately when he wasn't afraid of hearing or seeing me so damaged - and that he wanted to help because he cared about me as a person," Copeland said.
Photos: Getty Images
