Misty Copeland: Racism In The Ballet World

Racism in the Ballet World, and How Misty Copeland Changed it. Racism in our world, and especially in America, has been a problem for centuries. In the ballet community especially, the people in power have always been predominantly white as well as the dancers. Misty Coapland helped break the race barrier when she joined ABT as a principal dancer, as well as starting her own company to help the new generation of dancers and to combat racism and classism. Misty Copeland was born into a family with financial instability. She was on the drill team at her middle school when one of her coaches saw her potential and recommended her to join the Boys & Girls Club to start ballet lessons. The director of the club noticed her natural talent and invited

She used the offensive comments to her advantage by working harder in ballet and eventually giving back to the community through the BE BOLD program she started. Racism and classism have been prominent in the ballet community for decades now, making it impossible for anyone who isn't white or privileged to take ballet. Misty Coapland had trouble at ABT when she was the only black person in the company. In an interview with her she says, “during those 10 years, there were microaggressions, sometimes daily, and many times I almost quit”(Beard). Racism in ballet is proven through the microaggressions Misty speaks about, and there are almost no people of color in professional ballet companies. She is truly talented and is so talented that she got a scholarship to be part of ABT. Racism should not affect how much she wants to dance. Misty also came from a family in poverty and couldn't afford to take ballet lessons. Ballet should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their race or status. This is also shown in regular jobs, and people have a higher chance of getting hired if they have a perfect background and are not a person of