Copeland Research Paper

1096 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Influence of role models on young people

“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). Misty Copeland grew up in conditions where she was told she would never succeed but after years of hard work, she became the first ever African American Principal dancer in the history of the American Ballet Theater. Copeland broke down the racial barriers of the dance world by utilizing the habit of mind Persisting to overcome adversity and bias and illuminated the world by empowering people to accept who they are in order to move towards their dreams. "Every dancer is a synthesis of givens--height, limb length, natural turnout--and intense effort, but Copeland's late start can exaggerate the tendency we might have to regard a ballerina as simply touched by something divine" (Galchen, 2014). Four years after Misty first …show more content…

Because of Copeland’s achievements, there is now a more diverse mix of ballerinas in the ABT through Project Plie. She has also helped lead the charge to change modern society which has become more open to all races, ages, and body images. “Her performances became events, drawing large, diverse, enthusiastic crowds to cheer her on” (Grinberg, 2015) In an interview with Copeland, Barack Obama, and Time Magazine, Obama states, “And when I think about the journey I’ve traveled, there’s no doubt that young African American, Latino, Asian, LGBT, youth, etc, they have more role models. They have more folks that they can immediately identify with” (Rhodan,2016) Misty Copeland has become one of those role models and her impact has inspired everyone around

Show More
Related

  • Racism in Dance Culture

    1261 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...someone suited for a certain dance styles such as ballet, cheerleading, and hip-hop. The difference between black and white causes issues over ideal dance styles thus, creating certain stereotypes. People make expectations on the dancing body based on the individual’s skin colour. This is clearly depicted through Sara and Britney’s character. When they moved in to a predominantly black neighbourhood, they were expected to dance certain styles of ballet and cheerleading. The racial casting and interracial partnerships have been extensive and ubiquitous for decades. Yet stereotyped and sometimes repulsive notion of race remain alive across the dance form. Instead of referring to performances as black or white, people should focus on the individual’s unique style and grace. People should think of dance technique as something separate from the dancers and their colour.

    Read More

  • Romantic Ballet

    3140 Words  | 7 Pages

    Ballet has been an art form since the late fifteenth century, but society did not truly see the impact of ballet until the nineteenth century. Modern day thinkers possess the idea that ballet began with tutus and pointe shoes, but it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that this opinion was observed. Ballet has come a long way. It has survived the turmoil of many wars and has changed itself by accepting new ideas and impressing the audience with its unique stylistic views.

    Read More

  • Katherine Dunham: Activist, Anthropologist, Dancer

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    Katherine Dunham led a rich and full life not only as a dancer, but as someone who studied the people she loved, wrote extensively, and stood for causes that meant so much to her. Her legacy lives on not only in the great anthropological studies she did or the important political and social stances she took, but in the modern dance of today. Modern dance, or dance in general for that matter, wouldn’t be what it is today without her studies and influence.

    Read More

  • College Essay Dance

    466 Words  | 1 Pages

    Ballet is an athletic art form that utilizes muscle control, flexibility, and physical strength. It requires extreme discipline from the dancers and takes an extreme amount of mental concentration. This discipline causes dancers to have success throughout life and specifically in academic studies. There are many ways that dance can affect the success of a person’s life; however, there are two in specific that make dancers generally more successful. To begin, ballet causes dancers to be self-motivated workers; dancers cannot rely on others to push them to be better, but must have the drive within themselves.

    Read More

  • ballet Dancers and body image

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    Young girls and women symbolize femininity with being a ballerina. Kelso comments that in the shadows of the spotlight lurks an abusive world of eating disorders, verbal harassment, fierce competition, injuries, fatigued, and malnourished dancers (Kelso, 2003). In today’s world of ballet, dancers suffer from always being in pain, worrying their body image is not the right look they need to have to get lead roles resulting in the development of eating disorders, and male ballet dancers are stereotyped as being homosexual when most of the male dancers are in fact heterosexual.

    Read More

  • Mao's Last Dancer Essay

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    Li’s passion for ballet shows on and off stage through his arabesques, flexibility, fouettés, grande jeté and pirouettes that were nothing less than perfection. I understood that becoming a dancer requires commitment, passion and having a great memory as there’s many moves, routines and ballet terms that you need to learn. When I was performing on stage, I felt free and that I could own the stage as it felt like it was my second home. I also felt complete within myself just as Li felt. To perform on stage, you need to be light and graceful along with connecting to the music using precise steps, poses and formal gestures. The film used dance, music, scenery, and costumes to portray a story characterised by Li’s dance. Classical ballet dancers require the utmost grace and I’ve found that you also need a tremendous level of concentration and memory. This portrays when his choreographer Ben Stevenson asked Li Cunxin to replace the main male role due to an injury on the day of the performance to memorise new dances and perform them in front of an enormous crowd. Many of my performances have been in a group where we all need to be in sync and work together. This film highlighted that in order to become a professional ballet dancer, you have to prepare to work extremely hard no matter how gruelling the schedule is in order to

    Read More

  • The Pressures of Dancers

    3179 Words  | 7 Pages

    The typical idea of a dancer is that they are tall, slender, full of energy, and lucky because they dance with all of the “stars”. Much of this is true, however, what many people do not think of are the many hardships that a dancer goes through in order to achieve their high status in the dance world. It takes much hard work and determination along with good direction to become a dancer. However, nothing good comes without a price. Dancers often times have many pressures put on them which can lead to physical and emotional damages. These damages occur through the pressures from the media, parents, teammates, and the stereotype that society has placed on dancers.

    Read More

  • Thomas Middleton Research Paper

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thomas Middleton was an English playwright and poet. He was one of the most famous writers of the Jacobean era in the Renaissance period. Middleton’s compositions were written in various genres, such as comedy, tragedy, and history. Some of his most successful works include A Game of Chess, Women Beware Women, and The Changeling. The influence and impact Middleton made in the world of theatre earned him the nickname, ‘the other Shakespeare.’

    Read More

  • Orlando Magic Dancer Informative Speech

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Say Victoria Quintero; say Victoria Quintero.” all lingered and whispered throughout her family and friends. It was just last year that the host called The Orlando Magic’s Top 20 Dancers who made the team. Her name was not called, nothing was making sense as the host said, and “Here is your 2013-2014 Orlando Magic Dancers!” All of Victoria’s fans were extremely devastated, especially for her. She put everything into becoming an Orlando Magic Dancer: blood, sweat, tears and a brutal competition. Unfortunately, that was not Victoria’s year to shine. After the ceremony, I could tell that she was so full of sorrow and pain from not making the cut. She is only five feet tall, but she has a strong mind and the powerful Cuban mentality, from being

    Read More

  • Misty Copeland's Hard Work

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    A year after she joined ABT’s studio company she became part of the corps de ballet. By 2007, she was a soloist and was showcased in Marius Petipa’s La Bayadere; Alexei Ratmansky’s Firebird and The Nutcracker; and Twyla Tharp’s Sinatra Suite and Bach Partita (“Misty Copeland Biography”). In June of 2015, Misty became the first African American woman to ever be promoted to principal dancer in ABT’s history. She has gone on to perform with Prince, been in a commercial for Under Armour, been featured in several television programs, and received many awards. She has a passion for giving back. She works with charitable organizations; she mentors young boys and girls; and she has been appointed to President Obama’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. “Her trailblazing accomplishments have been recognized by a range of institutions and in spring 2015 she was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people, a rare feat for someone from the dance world” (“Misty Copeland Biography”). Misty is also a promoter of diversity in the ballet world and was on the committee for ABT’s Project Plié, which “offers training and mentorship to dance teachers in racially diverse communities around the country” (Blumberg). Misty is also an author of two books, has her own barbie, and has performed on

    Read More

  • Presentation Of Purpose : Autumn ' Jade ' Murray

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    I considered myself a performer, and after years training as a classical ballerina I expanded into stunting and tumbling. While on tour, I developed friendships and bonds with dancers strengthened by a mutual love for dance, a commonality over the pain our bodies endured daily, and conversations on bruised and broken toes.

    Read More

  • Misty Copeland: Ballet Dance For American Ballet Dance

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    When she began, one dance company told her that she could not make it as a ballet dancer, but they were wrong Misty did believe in herself and she keeps looking for what she dreamed of. I chose to talk about her because she has a persistent and motivated story. Misty is innovated person even thought that she lived in a motel she knew how to train without resources, well she used the balcony bars to practice her ballet lesson. I like the way how she dances, when I watched her dancing is like a magical inspiration because she does all those movements very relax and she felt what she is doing or the character that she

    Read More

  • Isadora Duncan

    412 Words  | 1 Pages

    The fine art of modern dance is like many other fields in that it is based on the actions and deeds of those who were pioneers in the field. These pioneers helped to mold modern dance into what it is today. Of the many people who are partially responsible for this accomplishment is Isadora Duncan. Duncan, often referred to as the “mother of modern dance,” inspired many other dancers to the extent that the art of dance would not be the same today without her many contributions.

    Read More

  • Body Image and Eating Disorders Among Young Ballerinas

    1808 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ballet is a beautiful and romantic type of performance art. It originated in the Italian court systems in the 15th century (Jonas). Since its origination, ballet has undergone many changes and gained worldwide recognition. Filled with elaborate costumes, cheering audiences, lights, weightless movements and beauty; ballet is admired by many. On the magical stage ballerinas can become whoever they wan to be, and perform in a world of fantasy. For these reasons, children, especially little girls, all over the world dream of becoming ballerinas when they grow up. However, becoming a professional ballerina is an extremely difficult accomplishment, in which few will achieve (Kelso 1). The world of ballet may seem to be filled with glitz and glamor but, behind the curtain there is an entirely different story. There are extreme demands and pressures put on these young dancers to be very thin and nearly perfect. Some of which include body and weight demands, competition, and social pressures. These constant pressures can lead to a negative body-image and even debilitating eating disorders (Price and Pettijohn).

    Read More

  • Misty Copeland: Diversity In Dance

    1681 Words  | 4 Pages

    American Ballerina Misty copeland, a cultural phenomenon outside the dance world, has been promoted to highest rank of the African american female principal dancer in the company’s 75 year history” (Grinberd said in the article “misty is the first black principal dancer at american Ballet Theatre). copeland has made history when she was chosen to become a principal dancer. Something more than just her dream It wa finally accomplished and she was more than happy to show the world that she made it and she was beginning to change the world of dance. (Time For kids) states that “Misty Copeland mentors young dancers to help them find their way”. Misty is the ambassador for the boys and girls clubs of the American National Youth of the Year Program. She also started helping with programs that bring ballet to committees where it hasn’t previously been available. This shows how Copeland is a caring person. The fact that many people love her because of what she does is amazing. she will keep impacting people’s life by being there and making a difference. she’s an inspiration for a lot of kids all over the

    Read More

More about Copeland Research Paper

Open Document