After 25 years with the American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland retired on Wednesday, October 22, taking her final bow at Lincoln Center. Copeland, the first Black female principal dancer in ABT’s 75-year history, changed the ballet world not just with her artistry but with her revolutionary presence.
Copeland’s path to prominence in ballet was very unconventional. She didn’t begin serious training until she was 13, a late start in a world where dancers often start before they can walk. “When I was about five my mother and I would take the subway downtown for my Saturday ballet class, she recalled in an interview with MSNBC, “I loved everything about that day but was particularly proud of my pink tights and slippers. By putting them on, I became something no one else believed me to be: a princess.” Yet, during her childhood, she understood that ballet wasn’t for girls who looked like her.
Despite these early barriers, Copeland’s talent and determination pushed her forward. She joined ABT in 2001, and after many years of hard work, became the company’s first black principal dancer in 2015. Along the way, she danced iconic roles, from Odette-Odile in Swan Lake to Juliet, and performed in Broadway productions and pop culture events, including with Prince on his “Welcome 2 America” tour.
In addition to her dancing, Copeland has been a passionate advocate for diversity in ballet. “When you have diversity, people come together and want to understand each other and want to be a community together,” she told the New York Times Magazine. She worked to ensure that black and brown dancers could see themselves on stages that historically excluded them, petitioning for pointe shoe emojis in a range of skin tones and founding the Misty Copeland Foundation to support aspiring dancers of color.
Copeland’s final years at ABT were spent focusing on her family and her foundation. Even so, her return for this last performance was marked by extraordinary dedication. Filmmaker Dawn Porter, who documented Copeland’s preparation, described the grueling process: “Her training regimen was extreme—punishing days of classes and workouts… Then, unexpectedly, she was moving across the floor in a whirl of pirouettes. Everyone in the room knew we were seeing something special. Misty Copeland was back.”
Her final performance was not only a farewell to audiences but a statement of hope and inspiration. According to Pride Publishing Group, Copeland danced alongside Calvin Royal III, ABT’s first black male principal dancer in two decades. With this, Copeland created a historic moment: two Black dancers leading a major ballet on one of the world’s most prestigious stages.
Reflecting on her career, Copeland told the Associated Press, “I’ve become the person that I am today, and have all the opportunities I have today, because of ballet… So it’s a farewell, but it won’t be the end of me dancing.” While her retirement marks the end of an era for ABT, Copeland’s impact will live on: on stages, in communities, and in the lives of the countless young dancers she has inspired.
