A Ballerina’s Tale

As part of our Black Voices series, the UNITED and Westerly ARC present a screening of the film A Ballerina’s Tale – a feature documentary on African American ballerina Misty Copeland that examines her prodigious rise and her potentially career ending injury alongside themes of race and body image in the elite ballet world. 

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’s Tale intimately documents Copeland’s historic rise while shining a light on the absence of women of color at major ballet companies. The film also explores how ballet’s emphasis on waifish bodies impacts the health of ballerinas while sending a negative message to young fans. 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’s 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 Firebird, to be performed at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, a major coup for a soloist. The night of the Firebird 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. A Ballerina’s Tale follows Misty’s journey, from the triumph of Firebird to the injury and painful road back to the American Ballet Theatre stage, and emergence as a star in the process.

Watch the trailer here.