Misty Copeland Quotes:
I’ve always approached my career and my life, you know, one day at a time, as if this was the last day that I’m going, because you never know as an athlete and as a dancer. You never know what can happen today, tomorrow.
Misty Copeland
To be empathetic to everyone around you, I think, is such a powerful thing to hold.
Misty Copeland
Every time I dance, I’m trying to prove myself to myself.
Misty Copeland
More often than we realize, people see in us what we don’t see in ourselves.
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
Finding ballet was like finding this missing piece of myself.
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
Source: Elle
Most ballerinas take their first ballet class when they are 5 or 6 years old. I was 13 when I took mine on the basketball court of the San Pedro Boys & Girls Club in California.
Misty Copeland
I was on a path. I was going to become a principal dancer. I never let my mind rest.
Misty Copeland
I didn’t care how much work it would take, and I didn’t see the time invested as a waste or like I was missing out on anything. Ballet became my ultimate passion.
Misty Copeland
I think all dancers are control freaks a bit. We just want to be in control of ourselves and our bodies. That’s just what the ballet structure, I think, kind of puts inside of you.
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
Ballet found me, I guess you could say. I was discovered by a teacher in middle school. I always danced my whole life. I never had any training, never was exposed to seeing dance, but I always had something inside of me. I would love to choreograph and dance around.
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
‘The Firebird’ just symbolizes a lot for me and my career. It was one of the first really big principal roles that I was ever given an opportunity to dance with American Ballet Theatre, and it was a huge step for the African-American community, I think, within the classical ballet world.
Misty Copeland
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