Misty Copeland Quotes

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Misty Copeland

Profession : Dancer

Birth : September 10, 1982

Being one of the few African American women to make it to this level in a classical ballet company, the level of American Ballet Theatre, takes a lot of perseverance.

Misty Copeland

Be strong, be fearless, be beautiful. And believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you.

Misty Copeland

More often than we realize, people see in us what we don't see in ourselves.

Misty Copeland

All you can do is be your best self. I've always felt that I had to be that much more aware of how I present myself. I'm representing more than just me. I think every person should think that way.

Misty Copeland

Every time I dance, I'm trying to prove myself to myself.

Misty Copeland

You have to be the one promoting yourself. If you don't think that you're worthy, you're never going to make it.

Misty Copeland

To be empathetic to everyone around you, I think, is such a powerful thing to hold.

Misty Copeland

There are no taking days off. There are no distractions. If I had that, I physically wouldn't be capable of going onstage and performing live theater. It's extremely demanding. I have to be in ballet class every day.

Misty Copeland

My childhood is a part of my story, and it's why I'm who I am today and why my career is what it is.

Misty Copeland

I want to bring awareness to the lack of diversity in ballet, and feel like that's a large part of my purpose.

Misty Copeland

Dance kind of was always just a part of my natural state as a child. It's something that, whenever music was playing, I was dancing.

Misty Copeland

Perseverance has always just been something that was in me. And it was a tool that came in very handy as a ballerina.

Misty Copeland

I never thought of myself as special or particularly good at anything. But once I started ballet, suddenly I had a new identity: prodigy.

Misty Copeland

Being the only African American at this level in American Ballet Theater, I feel like people are looking at me, and it's my responsibility for me to do whatever I can to provide these opportunities in communities to be able to educate them.

Misty Copeland

Though I have tremendous support from lots of people, there are so many others waiting to tear me down.

Misty Copeland

Don't hold on to the barre like, 'I might die.' It's just ballet.

Misty Copeland

Every time I step onto the stage, it's not only proving to the audience that I'm capable but to myself.

Misty Copeland

When I was 16, I moved to Torrance, California to train at a more advanced studio, and by 19, I joined the American Ballet Theatre in New York. It all happened so fast - it was pretty unheard of that someone could train for so few years and become a professional at one of the most elite dance companies in the United States.

Misty Copeland

I feel like going to class every morning is so humbling. You're always working to improve, and you're always being critiqued on your next performance. It's not about what you've done. There's always room to grow.

Misty Copeland

Barack Obama being President of the United States doesn't mean racism has disappeared. It's all a process, and we have to be aware that the work never ends.

Misty Copeland