Misty Copeland named first black female principal at ABT
NEW YORK (AP) – Misty Copeland has been named a principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, the first black woman to achieve that status in the company’s history.
The company announced the promotion Tuesday, about a week after Copeland, who has become a strong voice for diversity in dance, made her New York debut in the lead role of “Swan Lake,” one of the most important roles in a ballerina’s repertoire.
The Missouri-born Copeland, 32, has become a celebrity in the past several years, making the cover of Time magazine and writing a best-selling memoir, “Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina.”