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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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Misty Copeland
Age: 42
Born: 1982
Born: September 10
Actor
Author
Ballet Dancer
Dancer
Kansas City
Missouri
Misty Danielle Copeland
Think
Negative
Thinking
Coming
Race
Age
Understand
Interracial
Young
Background
Important
Backgrounds
Way
Aware

More quotes by 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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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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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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I definitely like to be natural and more relaxed and not wear a lot of makeup.
Misty Copeland
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Ballet.something pure in this crazy world
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
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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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I know I will never let myself be complacent in life.
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'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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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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I try to consider people's perspectives and not just my own.
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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I think I'm pretty laid back. I like cooking, being at home, and going to concerts. And I love to shop!
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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Ballet was exactly what I was searching for, but my environment definitely made me the dancer and the person that I am today. And the Hip-Hop culture was a big part of it.
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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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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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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I think anything that affects me in my personal life is going to help me be a better artist on stage.
Misty Copeland