The power of ballet | Misty Copeland | TEDx Georgetown

In this talk, Misty Copeland, a ballet dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, talks about the history and future of classical ballet as an art form, addressing issues of diversity, the media, and the culture and evolution of ballet. She pays homage to African American predecessors in the ballet world, and emphasizes the importance of keeping classical ballet alive and teaching it to our youth.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

I find myself, at this point I've been
a professional now for 12 years,

I've been a soloist, gosh, I don't know,
five, six years something like that,

so I've reached a very critical
point in my career.

I feel like now I can look back,
and grow from my experiences.

I have a world of curiosity
within my art form,

and I feel an enormous
amount of responsibility

to tell the stories of dancers
who have inspired me,

as well as a responsibility to carry on

and keep this historical,
and traditional art form alive,

because I'm at this point

where I'm reaching towards
the next chapter in my career,

hopefully to be the first African American
female principal dancer

in any major company in the world.

It makes me really step back
and wonder where ballet is headed.

Is ballet dying?

That's the big question,
and I couldn't disagree more.

(Laughter)

Keeping ballet relevant to the world
without changing its core,

which is the history of ballet,
I think that that's very important.

I don't think that ballet
has been this hot, in terms of the media,

probably since the 1980s.

I think that the world, outside
of the classical ballet world,

they're familiar
with the Mikhail Baryshnikovs

and the Gelsey Kirklands
and the Bolshoi ballet,

but they were relevant decades ago.

I do think that...

During that time, several ballets stars
were defecting from Russia,

coming to America, so it was
a really exciting time for dance,

and I think that's why the world
was so curious about it.

It was bringing in
a variety of nationalities

to form what has
such a deep European history,

and bringing it to America
and kind of creating a new history here,

because I feel like the ballet world -
the history is not very rich quite yet,

as it is in Europe.

So I think that we are getting back
to that point, now, with our generation,

with a different approach,
now that we have different forms of media,

and pop culture, music, sports,

and the fact that it's bringing ballet,
and exposing it to the world.

I think that it's incredible,

and exposing people beyond
the classical ballet world to what we do.

So, I think it's important
to bridge the gap between generations,

and carry on the tradition.

It's exciting that dance has become
in reach to every household,

with various ranges of income
through media outlets.

Lack of diversity:

I think this is one of the reasons
that ballet's been so exclusive.

Classical ballet has always
been characterized as an art form

that you're either born into,

an elite group of people
that are in a higher class.

Because we have these mediums now
to expose the culture past the stage,

I think it's closing that gap.

And for these reasons
I know ballet is not dying.

Diversity in ballet:

I think that it's important to expand

and show people that it can be inclusive.

It's a touchy subject, and I've never
been afraid to talk about it,

but racism in ballet, I think it's there,
it's always been there,

and I think it's something that we should
openly be able to talk about.

Not just so black and white
as in, "Who's there dancing?"

but within the storylines
of these old ballets.

Story ballets are the most classic
within the ballet repertory.

This question comes to me:

Could old storylines
that have racial connotations

contribute to the lack
of racial diversity in ballet?

And, I think that-

You think of these characters
in these ballets,

they take place in a foreign land,
in India, with the ballet "La Bayadère;"

or in an imaginary land,

the "Land of the Sweets,"
"The Nutcracker;"

"Giselle" in a graveyard
in the afterworld.

So, should we take offense
to these stories

or merely accept them as they are,
as stories and fairy tales?

And I feel, through my experience
as a black woman,

I definitely can't take to heart
playing these characters

that are created in these story ballets.

I think I've always had an understanding

that I'm an actress
when I step onto the stage,

and through the words of Lauren Anderson,
if you guys don't know who that is,

former African American principal dancer,
with the Houston Ballet,

and I will never forgive her words:
"No one is actually a sugar plum fairy."

So why should we get so caught up
in these characters that we're playing?

You know, I just don't think
that we should take offense

if the character is supposed to be
a submissive woman or a slave girl,

you know these are all
characters in fairy tales.

Okay, something else
that I would like to talk about.

Oh. That's not where I'm at.

Here we go...

An alternate history:

There's so much history
within the classical ballet world

that no one talks about.

And I think that people
would be surprised to know

of how many different nationalities

have such a deep history
in the classical ballet world.

So I wanted to share
my history as a black woman.

Black women have never really
been given the opportunity

to openly represent classical ballet.

Discovering this, I felt alone
in a world that had become my home,

and it gave me mixed feelings.

I did some of my own research

and discovered a world that was
so fascinating and comforting to me.

So I'm going to talk about some dancers.

I have a feeling that you guys
haven't heard of a lot of them

because they're just not put out there.

Janet Collins who is the first woman here,
one of the first black ballerinas.

She danced at the Metropolitan Opera.

Then of course there's Raven Wilkinson,
who, it's pretty incredible,

she lives five blocks from me
and we're really close friends now.

She was a ballerina
with the Ballets Russes in the '50s,

and that's a crazy story

that you guys should research
if you don't know who she is.

Arthur Mitchell, of course,
was the principal dancer

with New York City Ballet -
the first black man ever,

and then he founded
Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Dolores Browne -

the New York Negro Ballet in the '50s.

These are all such inspirational stories,

and things that weren't introduced
to me growing up.

So I think it's so important
for us to know

every side of the history
of classical ballet.

I do understand that the ballerina
represents ballet,

and having a European-based history,

seeing woman of color in this role
is hard for many to accept.

Finding out that African Americans
have a rich history in the ballet world

was an incredible discovery for me.

Part of what I realize now
as a part of my journey,

is to share their stories.

The evolution of ballet:

I think this is so important

because I think that probably
most of you are really familiar

with everything that's on TV now
that's related to dance.

I couldn't be more excited about it.

Different forms of media,
we have the movie the "Black Swan,"

we have "Dancing with the Stars,"
"So You Think You Can Dance,"

and I found my way into pop culture media.

Even though I have been given
these outlets to collaborate,

I find it my duty to pay respect

to the art and culture
of classical ballet while doing so.

TV shows, music, movies, sports
are all platform in my eyes

to spark interest into a world

that can seem intimidating
and unreachable.

So I want to show you guys a little video.
This was really cool.

It was something that I did
with a former NFL player.

His name is Sean James
and he has a student athlete foundation,

so we did this collaboration,

and this really cool video.

Let me show you a little bit of...

Uh oh. (Static sounds)

(Video: Electronic sounds)

(Music)

Misty Copeland: I think it's important
to see the similarities...

Sorry.

Oh god, what did I do?

...to see the similarities with dance
and to see that we are athletes,

and I think of athletes
as artists as well.

Sorry, I just messed this up again.

As well as collaborating with Prince,
being part of his Welcome to America Tour,

dancing on stage at Madison Square Garden,

I think these are all incredible ways
of staying true to classical ballet

but opening up a world to people

that probably wouldn't want to step
into the Metropolitan Opera House

and see a classical ballet.

So I think it's important
to have these collaborations,

to spark interest and keep ballet alive
outside of the classical ballet world.

The next thing I want to talk about
is creating new classics,

which I think is so important.

In my opinion...

In my opinion, there's a very fine line

between reworking classics
and changing them.

Keeping the classics alive
and remaining faithful to them

while creating new ones.

There are certain ballets
that will forever remain classics:

"Swan Lake," "La Bayedère," "Giselle,"
"Les Sylphides," "La Sylphide,"

"Don Quixote."

I don't think that any of those
should be touched,

and I know some people feel differently.

Is that where I am?

Yup.

(Laughter)

Tradition and history are what make
this art form so special and unique.

We can't abandon that.

While staying true and keeping
those classics alive,

we can build and create new classics
and a bright future for ballet.

Allowing new choreographers the space,
without judgement, to create,

we could very well have another
George Balanchine in our presence.

If you guys don't know
who George Balanchine is,

he founded the New York City Ballet,

and choreographed so many ballets
that are now classics.

And to think, then,
it was the new modern thing,

and now his ballets are classics,

so I think it's so important
to keep that alive,

to give hope to new choreographers.

Now we have Wayne McGregor,
with the Royal Ballet;

we have Alexei Ratmansky,

who I'm so thrilled
that I was a part of a creation

of his new version of "The Firebird."

So I think it's important for the future

to keep these choreographers motivated.

And on a different path,
without having to change the classics.

The last thing that I want to talk about

is educating our youth
on classical ballet.

I believe in progression
and change to allow for growth.

I think it's important to know
and respect our history.

What I feel so strongly about
and such a connection to

with classical ballet
is the structure of it all.

That is the one thing
I don't believe should change.

Classical ballet is different
from other art forms

in that we have stayed true
to the formal etiquette.

No matter what age you are in this field,
you treat the more experienced dancers

or the higher in rank with respect.

I think that it's important to continue on
with this tradition of the structure

because I think it can serve a child

in every aspect
of their life and learning.

Ballet culture:

I don't know if you guys
know much about the culture of it.

It's really interesting
that we don't really write things down.

And we kind of rely on a video,
but you know ballets that were created

in the early 1900s or 1800s,
you can't really look at video footage,

so a lot of it really depends
on memories and passed down stories

of this choreography and keeping it alive,
which I think is so cool about it.

But yes, we rely on the memory
of our predecessors

to pass on the knowledge of style
and steps down to the smallest details.

Our ballet masters, that sounds crazy
to say in this day and age,

our ballet master and mistresses,

but those are like our coaches,
are usually former dancers

that have danced the roles
that they are teaching and coaching us on,

and really sharing their experiences,

with probably the choreographer
as it was set on them.

I think it's so important
to bring it back,

to the origin of the ballerina
which is artistry,

and I feel like that's gotten so lost,
with my generation even.

Artistry is what separates
a ballet dancer from a ballerina -

a prima ballerina.

This generation, my generation of dancers,

definitely seem
to be more focused on tricks,

instant gratification, but I think you can
probably apply that to every aspect,

not just in the classical ballet world.

But, I think that they're kind of hooked
on this instant gratification

and response from the audience based on,
I think, a very empty movement

that is no longer
the origin of the technique,

so I'm really adamant about keeping
the classical technique alive,

I think it's important
to do your research,

learn the history,
to carry on this art form.

I feel very fortunate to be in a position
to show that our youth is fully capable

of carrying on such a rich art form
and keeping it alive.

And I think that the future
of ballet looks so bright.

Thank you.

(Applause)