The prestigious American Ballet Theatre’s first black soloist in twenty years will take the stage this week, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg in the unlikely, groundbreaking life of ballerina Misty Copeland.
The 30-year-old beauty hits the stage in “Le Corsaire” at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in New York on Tuesday, but her star turn is just one of a string of firsts and a fascinating life story she brings along with her.
For starters, Copeland, a native of San Pedro, California, grew up in extreme poverty. She didn’t even know what ballet was when she was spotted by an instructor at her local Boys and Girls Club at 13.
Which brings up another unlikely fact in Copeland’s life — she didn’t even begin training in ballet until her early teen years.
“I had no introduction to the arts in any way, definitely not the fine arts,” Copeland told the New York Post of her childhood, part of which was spent living out of a motel room with her mother.
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article courtesy of AtlantaBlackStar.com
