After 24 years at ABT, a star bows out, but her echo in culture, equity and art won’t fade.
Last Wednesday, Misty Copeland stood beneath center stage at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater and offered a final dance. She took her last bow with the American Ballet Theatre, closing a 24 year chapter that rewrote ballet history.
Forty three years old, Copeland is more than a dancer. She is a cultural pivot. In 2015 she became ABT’s first Black female principal dancer in its 75 year history. Her farewell wasn’t just performance. It was a celebration; Oprah Winfrey, Debbie Allen, Caroline Kennedy among the applauding names in the room.
Copeland returned to the stage after a five year hiatus, balancing motherhood, injury, and the weight of representation. That night she danced iconic pieces: a Romeo & Juliet duel with Calvin Royal III, a modern duet in Kyle Abraham’s Wrecka Stow, and a closing in Twyla Tharp’s Sinatra Suite with long time partner Herman Cornejo.
And then came the climactic moment, her three year old son in a tuxedo walked onto the stage and hugged her as golden confetti rained down. A symbolic pass of legacy and love.
But this isn’t a goodbye. Copeland has already planted roots for what comes next. Her Misty Copeland Foundation, the Be Bold program and her books (including Bunheads) will push open ballet doors for kids who never thought stages would see them.
