First read her autobiography when I was 13, after lights out at boarding school with my mini lamp, just after I started taking dance classes. I read the whole book in one night. Then read it again few months ago, now 17 and fully evolved and in love with this extraordinary art that is ballet. I can never get bored of her extraordinary story, every time I can find something new that I can relate to and learn❤️

Misty, beautiful, inside and out. The grace, the class, the talent?! When I first heard of Misty I was so thrilled! Never thought of or heard of a Black woman ballerina; but then, I immediately corrected my self and I said, why not?, of course there are Black women ballerinas. It made me then research Black women ballerinas before and since. I was so amazed at the greats that paved the way for Misty: Raven Wilkinson, Janet Collins, Lydia Abarca Mitchell, Carla Shelton Benjamin. I bought Misty’s books, and I also bought Michaela DePrince’s book too.

I finished this interview with my heart shining and my eyes full of tears of joy. Misty is a great inspiration and the way Isabela conducts the interview is wonderful, with so much lightness, sweetness and education. It's admirable to hear you talk, thank you very much for this opportunity, dear Isabela, for you being here, the lives of many, many people (including mine) are much better, more beautiful, lighter and more full of art (I learn from you at BWI every day) thank you, thank you, thank you, a million times, thank you.

I am a legally blind adult beginner who started dancing 5 months ago. I will never be pro but i love this interview. It gives me so much hope about the future of diverse dancers. 🙏🙏🙏❤️

Really great interview! I feel I have gotten to know Misty better than from any other of her public appearances, and respect her even more because of it.

What an amazing interview! Thank you Misty and Isabella.

@balletwithisabella

Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

This is such a wonderful interview. Isabella, I appreciate your interviewer style so much. I love how you intersperse your own experience and offer such fresh empathy to your interviewees. I really loved your rapport with Misty Copeland. She expresses herself so clearly and has such an incredible perspective on so many aspects of her experience, ballet in general, and working to make the ballet world more welcoming to black dancers. Thank you for doing this interview to both of you!

OMG! What a lovely and Inspiring interview! Thank You so much!

Beautiful on every level.

What a beautiful conversation between 2 people that I admire greatly on so many levels. So Loved how you both talked about your mentor's. Thank you for doing this.🤗💝💝💝

Love this so much! It felt like I was just hanging out with you and Misty. Very inspiring and motivating❤️

@balletwithisabella

Жыл бұрын

Aww thank you!! more interviews coming soon 🙂

@Blue70712

Жыл бұрын

@@balletwithisabella yay😊

thank you very much for this great interview , I admire her very much ,she's a wonderful ballerina . I like your channel full of interesting interviews , I look forward to your next guest interview , it would be awesome if you could interview Deborah Bull , I've read her books and she knows so much about the whole ballet world, legendary dancers ,royal ballet dancers and worldwide , training advice , memorable performances ,etc that her interview would be great ,thank you very much best regards 👍😊

You are such a great interviewer !! Loved it !

@balletwithisabella

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! ❤️

Love love love this !

Such a good & interesting conversation ❤

This is a great interview - misty id very natural here

I feel quite sorry for Misty. America is obsessed with race and you can see how it has consumed her. Her fragility and insecurity are palpable. I genuinely don't think she realizes how exceptional she is, I remember seeing pictures of her when I was a young dancer and her physique was mesmerizing. She was so sculpted and athletic, with the most beautiful lines. I loved that she had breasts and defined calf muscles. But I always thought it was strange how there wasn't a lot of footage available of her in classical ballets, if you search on youtube not much shows up. I've come to realize she isn't very strong in classical technique. It's a shame she didn't talk about this with you in the podcast, or mention how she has been coached by Eric Conrad in recent years. When Misty acknowledged her inability to dance the 32 fouettes in Swan Lake after heavy (and cruel) criticism, Eric stood up for her and believed in her potential. He recognized how she was not correctly taught the fundamentals and her placement has been wrong throughout her entire career. This goes for the majority of dancers in The West. It's fascinating watching her improve and see her finaly gain that understanding and control. This conversation was too much about race and not enough about the art form. I don't blame Misty for that, she is trapped in an echo chamber of a race obsessed culture. Sad, because I'm interesting in her vulnerabilities as a human being and an artist. There is so much more I want to learn about her as a ballerina. I don't see her as a "black" dancer, I do see her as an American dancer though. Would love for her to truly open up.

@3times_mom

Жыл бұрын

Eric did a fantastic job with her. And she was really capable to get his coaching.

@cheriestolze

Жыл бұрын

I’m sure glad she talked about how to deal with nerves. How is “breathing” as a way to prepare to for performance “trapped in an echo chamber”?

@ursula868

Жыл бұрын

@@cheriestolze You took that comment out of context. I was referring to her daily life an a black ballerina in a company that traditionally hasn't hired black principal dancers. The political climate in America is extremely tense with regards to race relations. When you are exposed to that every day of your life, it traps you in a mindset that isn't healthy. When you're told you're not good enough, you start to believe it.

@Muslimah_4_Life

10 ай бұрын

I know this was a while ago, but you CLEARLY don’t understand how important the race conversation is. For the whole world. Edit: I’m sorry for being kind of nasty about it, but as a Black dancer, this conversation it sooo important.

@ursula868

10 ай бұрын

@@Muslimah_4_Life quite the contrary. I'm a documentary filmmaker and have spent over a decade on a film about race relations between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous Peoples in the country where I live. The conversation is important, I never said it wasn't or that it doesn't have validity. But I can identify when someone has been overexposed to identity politics and becomes consumed by it to the point that it overtakes the art. I wouldn't say you were nasty about it, you just made an observation that is completely inaccurate. I've been in an interacial relationship for almost a decade, in a country with overt and ingrained racism. I see and have seen a lot of racism and I have seen the impact it has had on my partner, but I can also observe when he blames racism in situations where it hasn't been a factor. I'm a very passionate person when it comes to ballet and I am interested in discovering what Misty has to contribute as a ballerina, not only as a black ballerina. Black is not the colour of her soul. Ballet is a universal language and an art form that completely transcends the pigmentation of our skin. I think Misty suffers from Imposter Syndrome because she has been propelled to principal status but her classical technique is weak and inferior to other legendary principal dancers of American Ballet Theatre (Think Alessandra Ferri, Natalia Makarova etc.). She acknowledges this and struggles with it, but she sells tickets and so it made sense for the company to promote her. I think she knows she doesn't fill the classical principal ballerina shoes (this has nothing to do with her race, it's just that she wasn't trained correctly) but she can be a role model for other black dancers. That is honourable and admirable, but it's not the only thing I want to hear about. Maybe it's all she has to offer. I don't know. I'm way more interested in hearing more about ballet and her process of taking on a role, becoming a character, what ballet means to her and how she wants to impact an audience with her art. One subject in my documentary, who is an Indigenous man, said "the way to stop racism is to stop talking about race". I didn't agree with him at the time, but I've come to understand what he meant.

In an hour interview, I really wonder how much was about “diversity.” Ignoring part of her story is harsh and invalidating.

@balletwithisabella

Жыл бұрын

we spoke about this a fair amount and as she has spoken about this a lot in previous interviews I wanted to hear more about her ballet journey from dancer to dancer. Misty and I had a great conversation which we both enjoyed having. Sorry if you didn’t enjoy it.

@cheriestolze

Жыл бұрын

I was not clear. My comment was directed to those who did not appreciate hearing about being the first black ABT principle dancer and the challenges inherent with the accomplishment. Race is unequivocally part of Misty Copeland’s story. I appreciated the interview a lot. Your observation that Misty Copeland thinks of *others* to push through barriers, nerves, etc., perfectly sums up what I took away. Brava!

All of these measurements and guidelines being so stringent came from the Soviet system - having nothing to do with ballet most honestly.

@tanisabenulic2861

Ай бұрын

"Soviet system" has nothing to do with it, it is old Russian tradition in ballet that makes it the best in the world, at least for us Europeans. Please leave the American obsession with communism out of ballet discussion.

I feel it was too much about diversity rather than about dancing.

@cheriestolze

Жыл бұрын

I encourage you to listen to the entire interview.

Let's keep it real..if she wasn't black, ppl wouldn't give her another look..Misty herself admitted there are challenges in her choreography that she is unsure about. This in not a trait of a principal dancer..i started dancing at 6 and made it to ballet school at 14..i have a story Misty does not 😡

@PeachyMushroom

Ай бұрын

You can also stop pointing out she's black. Bam. Non issue.

Thank you Isabella, thank you Misty! What a wonderful interview! Love it!

@balletwithisabella

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! More to come ❤️

@ilenebrooks1814

3 ай бұрын

BLESS YOU 🙏🙏❤❤👑🥰