Having a remarkable charisma and exquisite physicality, Misty Copeland is indeed a modern-day ballet sensation. She was recently promoted as a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), making her the first ever African-American woman to achieve such distinction.
On Tuesday, Misty Copeland made her Broadway debut as Ivy Smith, who had just been named Miss Turnstiles, in the musical, "On the Town," Washington Post noted.
So, who is Misty Copeland? Here are 5 interesting facts we compiled about the pioneering black ballerina.
1. Born in Missouri, Misty Copeland was raised in Los Angeles by a single mother. According to Detroit Free Press, she began studying ballet at the age of 13 at a local Boys and Girl's club. At 15, Copeland started taking summer programs at ABT. In 2001, she formally joined the company and eventually became a soloist in 2007.
2. Copeland was the first African-American ballet dancer to take on a lead role in a major ballet company's production of "Swan Lake," Glamour noted. She will also be part of the cast when ABT presents "The Sleeping Beauty" at the Detroit Opera House in spring 2016.
3. Misty Copeland was named as one of Time Magazine's most influential people for 2015. The 32-year-old ballet standout was also an Under Armour spokeswoman, whose commercial was viewed 8 million times online, 2paragraphs.com revealed.
4. While most people assume that ballerinas don't really eat, Copeland confessed that she doesn't diet and even talked about her cookie addiction. And though she only follows a pescatarian diet, she revealed she's going through a phase with peanut butter cookies.
"I'm a pescatarian, so I don't eat red meat or pork," the ballerina explained. "So my dinners usually consist of seafood in some way. And maybe cookies after! Yeah. I'm going through a phase with peanut butter cookies. My boyfriend's like, 'you can't have them every night!' So last night I was home alone, and he came home after a party and found an empty box [laughs]. I go to this place on the Upper West Side, Insomnia Cookies, they're open until 3 A.M. and bake fresh cookies. It's so good and it's so dangerous."
5. Aside from her flourishing career, Misty Copeland has also a successful love life. In fact, she is engaged to her boyfriend of 10 years. Daily Mail reported that the ballerina will soon tie the knot to the 37-year-old corporate lawyer Olu Evans, who is actor Taye Diggs' cousin. Copeland also admitted that her fiancé was actually her first real boyfriend.
Despite facing racist taunts early in her ABT career including comments like "black women don't look right in tutus," Misty Copeland has proven she ain't just the normal ballerina but can also be an ultimate Broadway star who can sing, act and dance.
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