It was a warm summer night in 2019, and the outdoor amphitheater buzzed with the excitement of the audience. As the theater lights dimmed, the voices quieted until just the gentle hum of cicadas remained. Wind rustled the trees nearby, as the first notes of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” filled the air.

A single spotlight beamed down onto the stage, and Misty Copeland stepped into the light, transformed into the Swan Queen. Her arms flowed like water, her movements powerful and delicate.

This wasn’t just any performance—something incredible was happening.

As she leaped across the stage, her tutu catching the light like feathers, Misty felt something she’d never felt before—complete freedom. After years of working to prove she deserved her place in ballet, years of standing out, and fighting for her chance to shine, she was finally dancing for pure joy.

I’m Jasmine Wilson. And this is Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls.

A fairy tale podcast about the real-life rebel women who inspire us.

On this episode, Misty Copeland – the ballerina who broke barriers and changed ballet forever.

Misty Copeland’s childhood wasn’t filled with tutus and ballet slippers. She was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in San Pedro, California. She grew up in a single-parent household with five siblings. She was quiet, shy and nervous, but having so many brothers and sisters meant lots of built-in friends. Money was always tight, but at least they had each other.

When Misty was a kid, there was a lot of instability in her life. Sometimes, she didn’t know where her family would be sleeping that night. They bounced around, spending a few nights at motels, then moving to houses of relatives or friends. The only constant in her life? School.
When Misty was in middle school, she lived in one room with her siblings and mom. They stayed in an old motel near the highway named the Sunset Inn.
Staying at the Sunset Inn felt like a big secret. Her classmates were going home to houses or apartments, and she felt embarrassed about where her family lived.
But at 13, Misty discovered something that would change everything—her school’s drill team.
The drill team coach noticed something special about Misty right away. She had natural rhythm, incredible focus, and a way of moving that was simply… different. She had a strength and a grace that stood out against the crowd.
Her coach asked her if she had ever thought about ballet.
Ballet? Misty had never even considered it. Ballet was for kids who started when they were three, right? Kids who knew where their next meal would come from? Not for girls like her, she thought.

Besides that, Misty had only ever seen white ballerinas. And Misty was Black.

But the coach insisted she try it, and soon Misty found herself at the local Boys & Girls Club, walking into her first ballet class. Little did she know, those classes would change everything.

Misty’s first teacher was a professional ballerina named Cynthia Bradley. Cynthia watched Misty at 13 years old—an age when most serious ballet dancers had already been training for a decade. But Cynthia saw natural talent. Misty watched Cynthia demonstrating each dance move beautifully and was mesmerized by how confident and free she looked. Misty was hardworking and eager to learn. Cynthia was open and accepting. With this mutual respect and admiration, Misty began to thrive in Cynthia’s ballet class. When Misty danced, she let go of her feelings of shame and insecurity – she felt liberated.

But dance class was miles away from where she was living at the time. And with so many other siblings who needed tending to? Her mom told her she had to quit.

Misty was devastated. Where else could she feel safe to move and express herself? She was so upset that when Cynthia offered to drive Misty home from dance practice, Misty said yes, not realizing that a car ride home meant she would reveal her secret. As Cynthia’s car pulled into the motel parking lot, she connected the dots: This was where Misty’s family was living. Misty raced out of the car and into their motel room, feeling embarrassed and exposed.

A minute later, she heard a knock at the door. Her mom opened it and there in the motel hallway was Cynthia. After a long conversation between the two women, her mom approached Misty… She asked if she wanted to live with Cynthia so she could continue ballet classes.

Misty was stunned. But she immediately knew her answer: Yes! She was just starting to come out of her shell, and express herself through movement. She couldn’t lose that now. She wanted a future in ballet.

At Cynthia’s house, she felt like part of the family. Being there meant that she could live and breathe ballet. Moving her feet between first position, second position, third position… Bending her knees in a plie, standing on tippy toes to releve, and gracefully jumping into a saute! She learned a difficult technique called being “on pointe” where she wore special shoes that helped her stand on her tippy toes.

Misty loved dance, but she didn’t always feel welcomed in all dance spaces. Those special pointe shoes? She could only order one color: “European pink.” Misty had to be creative to make the shoes match her skin. She would buy foundation in her skin tone, and spend hours covering her pointe shoes and ribbons with a makeup sponge. Something the other ballerinas didn’t need to worry about.

All of this training and preparation wasn’t easy—Misty was learning in a year what other dancers had been practicing practically their whole lives. But soon her hard work started paying off.
At 15, Misty won first prize in the ballet category of the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Awards. That summer, she earned a full scholarship to the San Francisco Ballet’s intensive program – one of the country’s most prestigious programs for ballet! Misty couldn’t believe it.
But just as her ballet career was taking off, her life at home got shaken up again. Her mom had an apartment and more stability than before, so Misty left Cynthia’s family and moved back in with her mom. Moving meant that she had to continue her training at a closer school with a different instructor. Her dream of becoming a respected ballerina and dazzling audiences around the world was slipping away.
But Misty didn’t give up. She kept dancing, kept training, kept believing that maybe—just maybe—she could become a professional ballerina. Whatever it took.
[SEGMENT 3]
When she was 17, Misty earned another full scholarship—this time to the prestigious American Ballet Theatre’s summer intensive program in New York City. Then, after she graduated high school, she was invited to join the studio company – She would finally become a professional dancer!

At just 19 years old, Misty joined the American Ballet Theatre’s corps de ballet—a group of 80 dancers. But, out of those 80 dancers, Misty was the only Black woman. By now, she was used to standing out. She was often one of the few Black women dancing in workshops or training programs. But this time, she was getting media attention too.

The criticism was relentless. Misty was 5 foot 2 inches and strong, and she moved with elegance and ease. And yet, people questioned whether she had the ‘right’ body type for ballet. Some people said she was too muscular, too curvy, too different from the traditional ballerina image. They questioned whether she had the technical skill, but what really upset them was that she was Black. Their words hurt, but Misty used that criticism as fuel.
She fought to prove the critics wrong. She worked to make her body even stronger and her technique even more exacting – training every day, attending rehearsal after rehearsal, learning choreography in an instant. She practiced so she could execute the most difficult moves with precision. She poured her emotions into each movement, telling a story as she danced. And slowly, she began to climb the ranks.
In 2007, she became American Ballet Theatre’s first Black female soloist in two decades. To be a soloist is a rare opportunity only given to the best dancer out of the 80 person dance company. She danced leading roles in famous ballets, like “The Firebird,” “Le Corsaire,” and “Swan Lake.”
Audiences started to notice. Misty wasn’t just a talented dancer—she was truly someone special.
[SEGMENT 4]
Leaders in the dance world had taken notice, too. They had seen the skill and beauty that Misty danced with, and knew the world was ready for more. On June 30, 2015, American Ballet Theatre made an announcement that sent shockwaves through the dance world. After 75 years of dance, they would have their first African American female principal dancer: Misty Copeland.
Misty felt elated! Finally, at 32 — late in a ballet career — she had reached one of the most influential positions an American ballerina could aspire to. After all those years of being told she didn’t fit the mold, she was finally living her dream.
Misty poured everything into being a principal dancer. Suddenly, ballet performances were filled with young Black and brown girls who had never been to a classical ballet performance. Misty was inspiring a whole new generation as she gracefully leaped and twirled across the magnificent stage of the Metropolitan Opera House.
But becoming a principal dancer was just the beginning. Misty knew she had a platform, and she was going to use it to create a more welcoming environment for ballerinas of all races and ethnicities.
She appeared on magazine covers, wrote books, and became a spokesperson for sports brands. She was the face of the Metropolitan Opera House. Millions of people walking by saw banners with her image in front of the iconic performance venue! She performed with legendary musicians like Prince and made her Broadway debut. She even played the Ballerina Princess in Disney’s movie “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.”
When she performed, the Metropolitan Opera House was packed with audiences who traveled from all over the world to see Misty dance. She was more than a ballerina—she was a story of hope.

Misty was the first African American Principal Ballerina, but she has made sure she’s not the last. Perhaps Misty’s greatest achievement isn’t what she accomplished for herself—but what she’s made possible for others.

During her time as a principal dancer, other dancers of color began to rise through the ranks. Another Black dancer, Calvin Royal III, became a principal at American Ballet Theatre in 2020. And more Black and brown dancers were promoted to leading roles at other dance companies across the country.

Misty also started a foundation and created a curriculum called “Be Bold” to introduce children from underrepresented backgrounds to ballet. She mentored young dancers and spoke at schools in communities of color, sharing her story and the joy of dance.

Today, ballet stages look different because of Misty Copeland. Young dancers of all backgrounds see possibilities where once there were only barriers. Misty shows us that ballet can be for everyone. No matter how much money you have, where you live, or the color of your skin.

In the fall of 2025, Misty retired from the American Ballet Theatre. And yet, as the curtain falls on Misty’s ballet career, it rises on countless others. And for every little girl who’s ever felt like they didn’t fit the mold, Misty’s story whispers: Keep dancing. The stage is waiting for you.

This podcast is a production of Rebel Girls. It’s based on the book series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls.

This episode was narrated by Jasmine Wilson. It was produced and directed by Danielle Roth, with sound design and mixing by Marina Piaz.

The story was written by Danielle Roth and edited by Haley Dapkus. Fact checking by Sam Gebauer. Production coordination by Natalie Hara. Haley Dapkus is our senior producer. Our executive producers were Anjelika Temple and Jes Wolfe.

Original theme music was composed and performed by Elettra Bargiacchi.

A special thanks to the whole Rebel Girls team, who make this podcast possible! Until next time, stay rebel!