Dreams of a Sugar Plum Fairy:

Spotlight on Misty Copeland

I was young
Everyone was doing it—
Blonde ponytails, pink tutus
And then there was me...
If I'd noticed,
Maybe I would've quit
But I loved it
And I wanted to shine.
Twirl and twirl
On pointed toe,
Ribbons and colors
Music and art—
Sugar plum fairy dreams
Swirling through snowflakes
And me in the background
Awaiting my chance...
Expensive dreams,
Pirouetting in front of me
Taunting and haunting
Until at last I concede.

Misty Copeland is a soloist in the American Ballet Theatre. According to some sources, she is the first black soloist for ABT [1, 4]. Another, however, states that she is the first black soloist in 20 years and the third in the theatre's history [2]. Either way, she has climbed the ranks even from a general late start at ballet. Performing as soloist in multiple productions as well as alongside Prince [3, 4], Copeland is breaking the mold in the ballet world and changing the image in an otherwise white art.

References

1. Meredith Turits. "Misty Copeland, American Ballet Theatre's First African-American Soloist in 20 Years, Talks Breaking Barriers with Aplomb". Glamour Interview. April 23, 2012
2. Robyn Carolyn Price. "ABT’s Misty Copeland Talks to Vogue Italia About Being a “Black Ballerina”". Huffington Post. January 23, 2014
3. "Misty Copeland". American Ballet Theatre; visited February 2014
4. Rebecca Carroll"Misty Copeland On Prince And The Curvy Ballerina Revolution". Huffington Post. September 14, 2011