Misty Copeland

She joined the ABT Studio Company in September 2000, and became a member of its Corps de ballet in 2001. She spent most of her first year sidelined due to a lumbar stress fracture. As part of the Studio Company, which is the ABT's second company, she performed a duet in Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. During her second year in the corps, she endured medically induced physical maturation, professional pressure to conform to conventional ballet aesthetics and a resulting binge eating disorder. During her years in the corps, she felt the burden of her ethnicity in many ways and contemplated a variety of career moves. On August 20, 2004, while on break from ABT, she met her biological father for the first time.
Early career reviews mentioned her as more radiant than higher ranking dancers. She was named to the 2003 class of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch". As a corps dancer she had the opportunity to dance alongside her longtime idol Paloma Herrera. Starting in 2003, she began to be favorably reviewed for her roles as a member of the corps in La Bayadère and William Forsythe's workwithinwork. Recognition continued in 2004 for roles in ballets such as Raymonda and workwithinwork, and the 2004 season is regarded as her breakthrough season. In 2005, her most notable performance was in George Balanchine's Tarantella. In 2006, she received a notable mention for her role in Cinderella, and she was acknowledged for her meticulous classical performance style in Giselle. That year, she also returned to Southern California to perform at Orange County Performing Arts Center. Copeland's "old-style" performance continued to earn her praise until her promotion to soloist in 2007.
• Soloist
Copeland was appointed soloist in August 2007, which was announced in July 2007. Standing at 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 m), she is one of the youngest ABT soloists, and she has been a standout among her peers. In the early fall 2007 New York City Center season, in which avant-garde ballets works were performed, she presented a Balanchine Ballo Della Regina role. Her solo in this work was highly regarded although, as one of Balanchine's later works, Ballo Della Regina is not regarded as one of his best productions. Her performances of Twyla Tharp works in the same City Center season were recognized, and she was described as more sophisticated and contemporary as a soloist than she had been as a corps dancer. As a corps member she had been recognized for prior performances of Tharp's work. Her summer 2008 Metropolitan Opera House season performances in Don Quixote and Sleeping Beauty were well received.