Misty Copeland
The best piece of advice that I remember probably on a daily basis is to accept everything about me that is different. That is what makes me special.Collection: Advice
You can dream big and it doesn't matter what you look like, where you come from.Collection: Dream
My body is very different from most of the dancers I dance with. My hair is different than most I dance with. But I didn't let that stop me. Black girls rock and can be ballerinas.Collection: Girl
The path to your success is not as fixed and inflexible as you think.Collection: Thinking
I think most people don't really understand all that it takes to stand on your toes, and to be able to jump and land without any noise, or for a male dancer to be able to lift a girl. All of these things look so effortless, but there's an attention to detail and years of training, as well as being able to transform into a character and being able to meld all of those things together.Collection: Girl
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.Collection: Done
Some people even think that I'm still just not right for it [ballet]. And I think it's shocking because they hear those words from critics saying I'm too bulky, I'm too busty. And then they meet me in person and they're like, you look like a ballerina. And I think it's just something maybe that I will never escape from, those people who are narrow-minded. But my mission, my voice, my story, my message, is not for them. And I think it's more important to think of the people that I am influencing and helping to see a broader picture of what beauty is.Collection: Thinking
I feel like I represent every young dancer, and even non-dancer, who felt they were not accepted by the ballet world. I'd like to think that they can see themselves in me.Collection: Thinking
I just try to approach every opportunity on stage, as if it's my first time and my last time.Collection: Opportunity
Those people that don't see the power in art maybe have never been a part of an art, in a real way. To experience it, and to see and witness how it affects people, we're not doing it just to create professionals. It's to add another dimension to the way that children think and the way they experience certain things. If you didn't have dance, music and singing, it just seems so odd to me.Collection: Art
I will push myself in different ventures that I believe will make me a better artist, dancer and person.Collection: Believe
Ballet found me. 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.Collection: Teacher
Ballet.something pure in this crazy worldCollection: Crazy
I haven’t come from the typical path or background of someone who would make it to this level as a ballerina. When it came to my childhood-growing up in a single-parent home, often struggling financially-my mother definitely instilled in me and my siblings this strength, this will, to just continue to survive and succeed.Collection: Mother
I know I will never let myself be complacent in life.Collection: Complacent
I had no idea what I was walking into, and the years and years of hard work it would take. I felt like an outsider and like it was never going to happen. But even if I would have known, I think I still would have done it. Dancers are perfectionists, and that's what keeps us going and growing.Collection: Hard Work
I think that training is the key, definitely, and I devoted my life to it.Collection: Thinking
Different mentors throughout my life have supported and guided me to remember that I do have the strength, courage and talent to do whatever I want to do.Collection: Mentor
There are muscles that we have in our feet that most human beings don't even know that we have. The strength that we have is so detailed.Collection: Feet
The woman represents ballet. She is most important, powerful and vital to it. Therefore, she is not "less than" a man. If anything she is "more than" in this field.Collection: Powerful
Take advantage of the resources around you and the relationships you build!Collection: Advantage
It's difficult to exist as a woman, especially I think as a powerful woman. You want to stand strong and you want to be considered and equal.Collection: Strong
I learned how to communicate and articulate myself from ballet. It's just insane to me, when they don't think of that as a part of our education.Collection: Thinking
Even if I weren't learning new roles and getting the opportunity to be coached by incredible people, I still think I would be so excited to have an opportunity to continue to push myself and grow, as an artist.Collection: Opportunity
It's really amazing that I was discovered and that I've been given these great opportunities to travel the world and work with amazing artists. I'm very blessed.Collection: Blessed
What makes people and companies and artistic directors and choreographers interested in working with dancers is the ability to kind of let go of everything you think you know and be a blank canvas.Collection: Letting Go
I think anything that affects me in my personal life is going to help me be a better artist on stage.Collection: Artist
I'm a pescatarian, so I don't eat red meat or pork. So my dinners usually consist of seafood in some way. And maybe cookies after!Collection: Meat
I will never be the best dancer or artist. I will be growing until the day I retire.Collection: Artist
I will never reach perfection.Collection: Perfection
I know that most of the time I have to work overtime to do everything that I want to.Collection: Want
I try my best to really think about things before I react and respond.Collection: Thinking
How difficult it is to exist, that we are athlete and artist. We have injuries. People don't see the hard side of being a ballerina. They just see this beautiful and effortless thing, and they assume it's easy and cute. I hate when people say it's cute!Collection: Cute
I ended up training only for four years before I was accepted into American Ballet Theater in New York City.Collection: New York
A lot of people think, "Oh I'm going to eat whatever I want and then go to the gym." And I've definitely been one of those people and it just doesn't give me the results that I need to have the physique of a ballerina.Collection: Thinking
Maybe I'm seeing myself in a different way than the people in the audience see me, 'cause to me, I think I look like a ballerina and I feel like a ballerina. But maybe I'm not seeing what other people are seeing.Collection: Thinking
To have a platform like So You Think You Can Dance, where you're reaching this audience that's been created over the 10 years that they've been on the air. People who didn't know anything about dance and aren't going to go to the theater are learning about it, even if it's ballroom and jazz, by just turning their television ono. They're building this audience that's advanced and educated enough to introduce them to ballet.Collection: Thinking
That it's possible to do positive things and I think that's how we're going to set an example to be respected as women in the world.Collection: Thinking
My career came together very quickly. I only trained for four years before I became a professional, so I didn't have a lot of time to sit back and be inspired before I took my first ballet class.Collection: Years
I think I always felt a connection to music and to movement. Growing up, I was surrounded by R&B and Hip-Hop, and the closest thing I could find to dance was gymnastics which I watched on TV.Collection: Growing Up
I believe that I definitely developed into a refined and graceful woman due to ballet. It has shaped me in every way.Collection: Believe
The word "prodigy" was thrown around a lot, but I didn't understand what that meant, or the weight of it. It didn't really mean anything to me, until I was older and could look back on it.Collection: Mean
The higher you go up in rank, usually the longer you can dance.Collection: Higher
I want to share the ballet world with everyone.Collection: Ballet
I was aware of my race from a very young age. Not in a negative way. Coming from an interracial background, I think it is important to understand who you are.Collection: Thinking
But I think the more you eat healthy clean foods the more you create them.Collection: Thinking
I never experienced getting nervous on stage. I think I was most comfortable there.Collection: Thinking
I'm definitely very careful about the things that I want to be a part of, but it's also important for me to get dance out there to more people.Collection: People
Going on stage and transcending the audience and becoming this otherworldly thing makes you a dancer. It's not so black and white.Collection: Black And White