{"id":11753,"date":"2015-11-25T00:07:49","date_gmt":"2015-11-25T08:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=films&p=11753"},"modified":"2025-05-20T11:22:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T18:22:34","slug":"ballerinas-tale","status":"publish","type":"films","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/ballerinas-tale\/","title":{"rendered":"A Ballerina’s Tale"},"content":{"rendered":"

Few dancers reach the elite level of ballet; of that already small number only a fraction are black women. Misty Copeland shattered those barriers in 2015, making history as the first African American principal dancer with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre (ABT).<\/span><\/p>\n

A Ballerina\u2019s Tale<\/i><\/strong> intimately documents Copeland\u2019s historic rise while shining a light on the absence of women of color at major ballet companies. The film also explores how ballet\u2019s emphasis on waifish bodies impacts the health of ballerinas while sending a negative message to young fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Born in Kansas City, and raised in San Pedro, California, Misty Copeland did not begin studying ballet until the relatively late age of 13. In 2000, she joined ABT’s Studio Company, and the following year became a member of ABT\u2019s Corps de Ballet. She continued to rise within the company, becoming a soloist in August 2007. In 2013, she was offered the lead role in Igor Stravinsky’s challenging <\/span>Firebird,<\/span><\/i> to be performed at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, a major coup for a soloist.<\/span><\/p>\n

The night of the <\/span>Firebird<\/span><\/i> performance Misty danced beautifully, but later revealed she’d been performing in great pain. Soon she would learn that her left shin suffered six fractures and required corrective surgery. Many doubted she would ever dance again. <\/span>A Ballerina’s Tale<\/span><\/i> follows Misty’s journey, from the triumph of <\/span>Firebird<\/span><\/i> to the injury and painful road back to the American Ballet Theatre stage, and emergence as a star in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Few dancers reach the elite level of ballet; of that already small number only a fraction are black women. Misty Copeland shattered those barriers in 2015, making history as the first African American principal dancer with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre (ABT). A Ballerina\u2019s Tale intimately documents Copeland\u2019s historic rise while shining a light on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":11758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"topic":[1216,1248,1264,1227],"class_list":["post-11753","films","type-films","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-arts-and-culture","topic-dance","topic-race-ethnicity","topic-women-and-girls"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Ballerina's Tale | Documentary about Misty Copeland | Independent Lens | PBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Ballerina's Tale: Meet Misty Copeland, the first African American principal dancer with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/ballerinas-tale\/\" 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