African-American Ballerina Becomes Principal Dancer for American Ballet Theatre.
WHITFIELD: This week, the most recognizable ballet dancer, Misty Copeland, reached a new height, principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre. This has been a dream for the 32-year-old since the age of 13. As the first African-American to earn this title in the ballet company's 75-year history, Misty says it's both a load off her shoulders and a new challenge.</s>MISTY COPELAND, PRINCIPAL DANCER, AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE: It just sounds so surreal to hear those words. No, this is it. My dream has been ABT since I was 13, and to be a principal dancer is reaching those heights. And now I feel like I can breathe, but David Hallberg told me this morning the hard work is just now starting. And I love a challenge. I don't think I could be part of this field if I didn't like to work hard.</s>WHITFIELD: And when I sat down face to face with Misty Copeland last fall, she focused on both the journey and responsibility that comes with her ballet success.</s>COPELAND: I'm Misty Copeland, I'm 32-years-old, and I'm a soloist with American Ballet Theatre. I'm a ballerina.</s>WHITFIELD: And what does it feel like to be able to say that?</s>COPELAND: It's pretty cool.</s>WHITFIELD: That was last fall. Now Misty Copeland proudly describes her ascension to American Ballet Theatre's new principal dancer.</s>COPELAND: This has been something that every dancer dreams of dancing in their dream company and becoming a ballet member, every dancer dream of being a soloist and being a principal. But it's very rare to actually reach this position, especially with the company like American Ballet Theatre. So though it's always been a dream of mine, I didn't think it was ever going to happen.</s>WHITFIELD: Even though she told me last fall she's been working tirelessly for years to make it happen.</s>COPELAND: Not necessarily to be more talented, but you have to be ready to push yourself to the limits, and then to be a principal dancer even more so.</s>WHITFIELD: She's been unique in so many ways well before reshaping the American Ballet Theatre's 75-year history. Before becoming principal dancer, she was the first black soloist for the company in 20 years, stunning audiences at her New York performance of the "Nutcracker," her ground breaking transformation from the delicate Odette into manipulative Odile in ABT's "Swan Lake." Each time she is asked about the leap into the historically monochromatic classics, she is graceful.</s>COPELAND: Over the past maybe three years, I've been put out there in the media, but it hasn't been an overnight sensation at all. It's been 13, 14 years of extremely hard work. And this season in particular has been a lot of pressure for me having the spotlight while I'm premiering such big roles. But I'm just so honored, so extremely honored to be a principal dancer, to be an African-American, and to be in this position. I never saw this happening with my life. But I'm just on this ride, and I'm just trying to take it one day at a time.</s>WHITFIELD: And how are you handling it, because it's quite the ride? "Nutcracker," you were the lead of that, the lead of "Swan Lake." You are changing the face of ballet dance and in a culture in America, if not the world. I mean, that is pretty heavy.</s>COPELAND: Yes.</s>WHITFIELD: Or did I just make it heavy? I'm sorry.</s>COPELAND: It's always been what I wanted. I wanted to bring it to Americans the way Europeans experience ballet, and for people to appreciate it and for me to share the stories of those who have come before me that don't always get the recognition as African-American ballerinas. Those are my goals. And I have so much more to do.</s>WHITFIELD: This on the heels of performing the lead of Juliet, as in "Romeo and Juliet," at the Met.</s>COPELAND: I try not to get ahead of myself and just dive into each project as I'm working on them individually and not get overwhelmed by the bigger picture. But, I mean, it's hard to describe. And I'm just happy that I have these opportunities, you know, even with Firebird, that the audience that was there that night was kind of changing, seeing a more diverse audience to come support me. It's a big deal.</s>WHITFIELD: It is a big deal and seemed farfetched 20 years ago when as one of six children Copeland would step up to a ballet bar at 13 years old in a Los Angeles neighborhood Boys and Girls Club. It was uncomfortable. This wasn't the place that you naturally wanted to be.</s>COPELAND: Right. It was unfamiliar and scary, and as a shy, introverted girl, trying anything that was new was terrifying to me. So yes, it was terrifying at first. This thing that is like, this is my life.</s>WHITFIELD: But Copeland writes in her memoir, "Life in Motion, An Unlikely Ballerina," her ballet instructor saw in her gifts.</s>COPELAND: My body was agile and just capable of doing everything she asked. And I understood how to retain it.</s>WHITFIELD: She felt alive and suddenly far away from what a she describes as a chaotic and nomadic family life, her mother moving the kids from home to home.</s>COPELAND: An escape from my everyday life. I was in this beautiful world with beautiful music.</s>WHITFIELD: By 17, Copeland headed for New York, her athleticism and dance standing out, gaining a special notoriety in this Under Armour ad, going viral with nearly 7 million views on YouTube. She caught the eye of the artist known as Prince, who incorporated her dance on his music tour in 2010.</s>WHITFIELD: Is it true that you felt like you had really arrived as a dancer once Prince said I want you involved in my music.</s>COPELAND: Something definitely happened during that experience. As dancers were told what to do from the moment we stepped into that first ballet class. You don't speak. To be given the opportunity, it was just me on a plane going to meet Prince in France. And I got there, and I said, what am I doing? What do you want me to do? He said whatever you want. It was like scary at first, that freedom. That was kind of the start of pushing myself as an individual and understanding the responsibilities it takes to be an artist.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misty Copeland.</s>WHITFIELD: Like using her celebrity to teach lessons.</s>COPELAND: I came from humble beginnings. I wasn't supposed to be a ballerina. I'm African-American. I went through a period of, you know, being fat in their eyes. And look at me now. And that's just the message that I want to continue to promote to kids.</s>WHITFIELD: On this day last fall, to young girls and women at the historically black all female college of Spelman. What's the advice or encouragement that you give them in their journeys?</s>COPELAND: To keep people in your life who are going to support whatever it is that you want to do, to not compare themselves to other people. Just know that they are beautiful.</s>WHITFIELD: An unlikely ballerina, finding her footing, and in the process forever changing the world of ballet.</s>WHITFIELD: And Copeland made that iconic commercial that you saw earlier for Under Armour, and the sports brand organized a social congratulations campaign with this tweet "Celebrate Misty on point just named ABT principal. The more hash-tags principal Misty tags, the more flowers we'll send her." And then guess what happened. Thousands of tweets later, Under Armour delivered Copeland an entire SUV full of blossoms right there. The company says it is so proud, and, quote, "History is beautiful." Incredible. We'll be right back.