On Oct. 22, 2025, famous ballerina Misty Copeland performed her final performance with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), where she became the first black woman to be promoted to a principal dancer, the highest-ranking dancer in the company and the lead role in a majority of the dances. After 25 years as a member of the ABT she decided to retire to pursue other interests and advocacy. As she closes her chapter with ABT, it’s important to explore some of the countless contributions and legacy she is leaving behind to the dance world and beyond.
Copeland began dancing at the age of 13, and since dance is very competitive and intense, most dancers start at age three to four. Therefore, starting at 13-years-old is considered very late and put her at a disadvantage. In addition to starting later than all of her peers, she was also a part of a heavily white dominated profession. Despite these challenges, in the article Life’s Work: An Interview with Misty Copeland, Copeland explains, “Once I was introduced [to dance], I thought, ‘There’s no way I can go on without having this in my life,’” and as we know today, she became very successful.
Being the first black woman to get to her status within the biggest ballet company in the world, she reshaped the traditional view of a ballerina worldwide. The Misty Copeland Foundation is a nonprofit organization created by Copeland herself to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in dance, specifically ballet. She grew up in a somewhat economically unstable house, and now advocates for ballet to be more affordable particularly for families in under-developed areas. She has actively worked to expand the accessibility of ballet, and through her success, has forced the industry to consider ballerinas that did not fit into their preconceived judgement of what they ‘should’ look like.
Despite her career, Copeland advocates for aspects outside of just dance. She is an ambassador for the Boys and Girls Club of America, an organization dedicated to providing a safe place, programs focused on academics, health, and leadership, and mentors to kids around America. Their website states that Copeland “is committed to opening the door for more girls, no matter their age or background, to discover ballet.” To promote nutrition and fitness, she was also appointed to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition by President Obama in 2014 for about four years until the administration changed.
Aside from contributing to the dance world, Copeland is a distinguished author. She has written ten books, but her most famous book is her 2014 memoir Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina. In this novel, she takes the reader through her journey from her difficult childhood to becoming the first black principal ballet dancer at the ABT, and it became a bestselling and prizewinning book. She has also written children’s books, one of which is called Bunheads and tells the story of a young girl getting over stage fright with the help of her friends.
Although she is retiring from ABT, her contributions to dance and society alike are not finished. Her reason for retirement was feeling like she has accomplished all she can on the stage, and wanting to move on to the next phase of her career. She wishes to use her platform solely to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion outside of dance. Although ballet has lost an amazing ballerina, her influence will continue to inspire generations to come.
