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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.

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
Something
Training
Always
Inside
Never
Teacher
Life
Middle
Danced
Seeing
Ballet
Found
Exposed
School
Discovered
Whole
Dance

More quotes by Misty Copeland

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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.
Misty Copeland
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I've gotten nothing but warmth from the Black community and positive feedback.
Misty Copeland
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Without my mentors there is no Misty.
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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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.
Misty Copeland
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My goal has always been to be a principal dancer with ABT.
Misty Copeland
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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.
Misty Copeland
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I believe I am yet to dance my favorite role, but I am pretty open to adapting to different characters. I would love to be Odette in Swan Lake one day. I think that would be the ultimate role.
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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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 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.
Misty Copeland
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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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I believe that I definitely developed into a refined and graceful woman due to ballet. It has shaped me in every way.
Misty Copeland
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But I think the more you eat healthy clean foods the more you create them.
Misty Copeland
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I will never reach perfection.
Misty Copeland
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I shouldn't even be wearing a tutu. I don't have the right legs, my muscles are too big.
Misty Copeland
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I'm a classical ballet dancer, and at the end of the day I want to be with American Ballet Theater, performing classical ballets.
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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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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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.
Misty Copeland