Thursday, March 13, 2014
7:30pm (Reception 6:15-7:30pm)
An Evening with Misty Copeland
Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina
William Turner Gallery
Bergamot Station Arts Center
2525 Michigan Avenue,
Santa Monica, CA 90404
PURCHASE TICKETS
$20 General Admission — SOLD OUT
$40 Includes Copeland’s book + Reserved seat — SOLD OUT
$95 Includes pre-reception + Copeland’s book + Reserved Seat – SOLD OUT
Misty Copeland in the news…
— New York Times, Feb 21, A Singular Ballerina’s Multiple Paths
When Misty Copeland placed her hands on the barre at an after-school community center, no one expected the undersized, anxious thirteen-year-old to become a groundbreaking ballerina.
When she discovered ballet, Misty was living in a shabby motel room, struggling with her five siblings for a place to sleep on the floor. A true prodigy, she was dancing en pointe within three months of taking her first dance class and performing professionally in just over a year — a feat unheard of for any classical dancer. But when Misty became caught between the control and comfort she found in the world of ballet and the harsh realities of her own life (culminating in a highly publicized custody battle), she had to choose to embrace both her identity and her dreams, and find the courage to be one of a kind.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in San Pedro, California, she began her ballet studies at the late age of thirteen. At fifteen she won first place in the Music Center (Los Angeles) Spotlight Awards. She studied at the San Francisco Ballet School, American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive on full scholarship and was declared ABT’s National Scholar in 2000.
Misty joined ABT’s Studio Company in September 2000, joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in April 2001 and in 2007 made history by becoming their third African American Female Soloist and first in two decades.
In 2008, Misty was honored with the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Arts, a two-year fellowship awarded to young artists who exhibit extraordinary talent providing them additional resources in order to attain their full potential.
Performing a variety of classical and contemporary roles, Misty’s most important role to date is the title role of “The Firebird” in “Firebird”, created on her in 2012 with new choreography by sought after choreographer Alexei Ratmansky.
She was honored with an induction into the Boys & Girls Club National Hall of Fame in May 2012 and received the “Breakthrough Award” from the Council of Urban Professionals in April 2012. She was named National Youth of the Year Ambassador for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in June 2013. She received the Young, Gifted & Black honor at the 2013 Black Girls Rock! Awards. Her endorsements past and present include American Express, COACH, Diet Dr. Pepper, BlackBerry, Proactiv, Payless, Capezio, Bloch International, Sansha, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and LaVazza Coffee. In 2014, Under Armour recently announced Misty as one of the new faces of their women’s line.
Her memoir, Life in Motion, is a story of passion and grace for anyone who has dared to dream of a different life. With an insider’s unique point of view, Misty opens a window into the life of a professional ballerina who lives life center stage: from behind the scenes at her first auditions to her triumphant roles in some of the most iconic ballets. She also delves deeper to reveal the desire and drive that made her dreams reality. Visit her website.