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Once I became a professional, maybe 19 or 20, I really started to try to figure out who I was, as a woman and as an individual.

Misty Copeland

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Misty Copeland
Age: 42
Born: 1982
Born: September 10
Actor
Author
Ballet Dancer
Dancer
Kansas City
Missouri
Misty Danielle Copeland
Started
Maybe
Woman
Individual
Trying
Professional
Really
Figure
Became
Figures

More quotes by Misty Copeland

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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.
Misty Copeland
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Just to get into a company like ABT is a dream come true, but to have all of these opportunities on top of it, I don't think it will hit me until I'm 70. I'll be like, Oh, my god, remember that amazing life you had? It's an incredible honor to be a part of something like ABT.
Misty Copeland
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When people meet me in person, they're usually surprised at how petite I am because there's just [an] idea that because I'm black I just look a certain way.
Misty Copeland
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My first ballet class was on a basketball court. I'm in my gym clothes and my socks trying to do this thing called ballet.
Misty Copeland
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I remind myself everyday just how lucky I am to do what I love! I feel so fortunate and I'm just trying to take my life one day at a time.
Misty Copeland
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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.
Misty Copeland
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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.
Misty Copeland
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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.
Misty Copeland
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I just try to approach every opportunity on stage, as if it's my first time and my last time.
Misty Copeland
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I know that most of the time I have to work overtime to do everything that I want to.
Misty Copeland
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I know that I'll forever be involved in ballet. This is where my life was meant to be, and I don't see myself straying completely away, ever.
Misty Copeland
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Success is not easy and I think everyone should know that hard work and perseverance and being open to giving back are so much more powerful than stepping all over people to get to the top.
Misty Copeland
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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.
Misty Copeland
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I will never reach perfection.
Misty Copeland
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I know I will never let myself be complacent in life.
Misty Copeland
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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.
Misty Copeland
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Meeting Raven Wilkinson and having her as a mentor, it was that kind of support from the generations that came before me that helped to lift me up and give me the confidence to then be able to give back and bring other minorities with me on this journey.
Misty Copeland
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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.
Misty Copeland
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The fact that I was African American was never addressed, and that allowed me to just be a student, like anyone else. I was not aware of how rare it was to be an African American, how rare it was to have four years of training under my belt, and how, even though I could imitate people and fake it, unprepared I was to become a professional.
Misty Copeland
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When you see the body outside of a costume and see the strength that it takes, people would look at dance a different way and see how athletic it is. You're not just born like that.
Misty Copeland