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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.

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
Time
Class
Professional
Four
Quickly
Didn
Inspired
Together
Became
Back
Career
Firsts
Careers
First
Took
Ballet
Years
Came
Trained

More quotes by Misty Copeland

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I will never reach perfection.
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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My goal has always been to be a principal dancer with ABT.
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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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
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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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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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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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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 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.
Misty Copeland
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I don't think every African-American or Latino have the same body type, but, yes, that's been one of the excuses ... saying that African-Americans are too muscular or just aren't lean enough. Usually they say, Oh, they have flat feet so they just don't have the flexibility that it takes to create the line in a point shoe.
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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Ballet.something pure in this crazy world
Misty Copeland
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I try to consider people's perspectives and not just my own.
Misty Copeland
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I think anything that affects me in my personal life is going to help me be a better artist on stage.
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 never experienced getting nervous on stage. I think I was most comfortable there.
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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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
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I was 17 when I moved to NYC . I'm now 32. But I do know I can't see myself living anywhere else. I love the food, the fashion, art, the intelligence of this city and the people that live in it.
Misty Copeland