Misty Copeland named 1st black principal dancer for American Ballet Theater

Ballerina Misty Copeland not only made one of her personal dreams come true, but also made history this week when she was promoted to principal dancer of the American Ballet Theater, making her the first African American woman ever to hold the position.

The 32-year-old re-posted a clip to her 579,000 Instagram followers taken at the announcement on Tuesday where she is visibly emotional after being told of her groundbreaking promotion in the ballet world. She followed up by re-tweeting and thanking fans like Oprah and Taye Diggs and then greeted fans waiting outside the Met in New York thanking them for being there.


The beauty, who joined the company in April 2001 and was promoted to soloist in August 2007, has spoken openly about her struggles to rise to the top of the dancing world and the backlash she faced because of her skin color. “My fears are that it could be another two decades before another black woman is in the position that I hold with an elite ballet company,” she wrote in her memoir, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, published last year. “That if I don’t rise to principal, people will feel I have failed them.”

Misty was named the first ever African American principal dancer for ABT Photo: Instagram/@mistyonpointe


Misty has drawn large crowds during her rise to the top and had fans lined up outside her stage door when she made her debut as the first African American to take on the starring role in ABT's production of Swan Lake .

Misty was the first ever African American woman to play the lead in Swan LakePhoto: Instagram/@mistyonpointe

Prior to her history-making announcement, Misty was already breaking the mold by appearing in a Diet Dr. Pepper commercial and dancing atop a piano for Prince's 2010 tour. She also appeared in the hugely popular Under Armour commercial, the first ballerina ever to do so, which racked up more than 4 million views in a week. She was even named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in 2015.

Photo: Instagram/@mistryonpointe

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