8/31/17 O&A NYC DANCE: An Evening with Misty Copeland

Misty Copeland, the first African American female principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, has often spoken out about being “different” in the world of ballet. Continue reading

3/8/17 O&A NYC DANCE: Misty Copeland On Changing The Face Of Ballet

Misty Copeland said “I never thought I could make a career out of something I enjoyed doing something I was passionate about, something that gave me a voice”  Copeland is the first African Americans to become a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. Continue reading

12/4/17 O&A NYC DANCE: Misty Copeland and Sterling Baca- Nutcracker Pas de Deux (2014)

screen-shot-2016-07-15-at-11-07-46-am-1

American Ballet Theater ‘s Misty Copeland as the Sugar Plum Fairy with ABT’s Sterling Baca at the New England Dance Ensemble’s production of ‘the Nutcracker’, at the Windham high school, Windham, NH.  
Continue reading

10/11/16 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Ballerina’s Tale With Misty Copeland

Inspirational Tuesdaya-ballerinas-tale-event-image-b816ed0515

A Ballerina’s Tale stars Misty Copeland the American Ballet Theatre principal dancer and Under Armour spokeswoman. On Monday, October 12, 2015 at the 92nd Street Y (New York City) Copeland, Director Nelson George and TV personality Gayle King discussed the documentary.  Continue reading

4/26/16 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY- REMEMBERING PRINCE: The Beautiful Ones- Prince and Misty Copeland

Inspirational-Tuesday9aaa20da2dfa93d561bd0f58e3795db8

Misty Copeland first came to the general public’s attention in 2009 when she appeared in Prince’s video Crimson and Clover. Then a soloist and nine year member of American Ballet Theatre, Copeland received a phone call one morning “I was asked if Prince could have my cell number…I was literally still waking up. ‘What? Prince who?'” The next day she headed to Los Angeles for the video shoot. Continue reading

2/22/16 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Misty Copeland- The Power Of Ballet

mistycopeland

Misty Copeland makes history as the first African-American female principal dancer with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre. Copeland, who came from meager beginnings, became interested in dance at age 13 (usually considered too late for ballet). A true prodigy her talent propelled her to dance en pointe after three months of training and performing within her first year. She shares  her optimism and reflects on her path to stardom.   Continue reading

2/12/16 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: First Look At Misty Copeland Channeling Edgar Degas For Harper’s Bazaar

Shall We Dance maxresdefault-4

Misty Copeland, principal dancer American Ballet Theatre, appears in the March issue of Harper’s Bazaar to recreate iconic ballet inspired paintings and sculpture from impressionist painter Edgar Degas. Congratulations to Copeland for once again disrupting the historical whiteness of ballet. 

56bca4611a00009c01ab2736Copeland as Swaying Dancer (Dancer in Green); Oscar de la Renta dress, $5,490

Photographers Ken Browar and Deborah Ory captured the world-renowned dancer for the eye-catching editorial spread. The resemblance to Degas’ original works of dancers at the Paris Opéra Ballet is uncanny. Copeland nails the graceful poses while dressed in high fashion designs by Valentino, Alexander McQueen, Carolina Herrera, and Oscar de la Renta that look like they were literally plucked from each painting and sculpture.

56bca4091a00009c01ab2735Copeland as Degas’s Dancer; Carolina Herrera top, $1,490, skirt, $4,990

In the article, she explains why she love to dance. “I was drawn to ballet and performing for a reason that I think a lot of people can’t really understand or relate to,” she says. “People think it’s like, ‘You’re out there,’ or ‘You’re exposed.’ But I felt safe when I was on the stage, like no one could get to me. It was the first time in my life that I felt protected.”

56bca4b81800002d0080bc14Copeland as Degas’s Little Dancer Aged Fourteen; Alexander McQueen dress, $4,655, and corset, $4,525

At 33, she’s in the midst of the most illuminating pas de deux with pop culture for a classical dancer since Mikhail Baryshnikov went toe-to-toe with Gregory Hines in White Nights.

56bca3aa1a00009c01ab2734-1Copeland as Swaying Dancer (Dancer in Green); Oscar de la Renta dress, $5,490

Degas’s ballet works, which the artist began creating in the 1860s and continued making until the years before his death, in 1917, were infused with a very modern sensibility.  He offered images of young girls congregating, practicing, laboring, dancing, training, and hanging around studios and the backstage areas of the theater. 

1454957845-hbz-030116-welldegas10Alberta Ferretti dress, $28,090

Copeland is engaged to Olu Evans, an attorney, who she’s been with for more than a decade. They live together in an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. She admits to an “intensifying” designer-footwear addiction, and while she’s still working out the details of her nuptials, she confesses giddily that Christian Louboutin is making her shoes for the occasion.

1455035644-hbz-030116-welldegas03Roberto Cavalli skirt, price upon request

Misty Copeland- The Art Of Dance

Video shot by Sandy Chase

Photography by Ken Browar and Deborah Ory of the NYC Dance Project

maxresdefault-4

7/14/15 O&A Inspirational Tuesday: Misty Copeland- Dancing Her Dreams

Inspirational-Tuesday
the-view_video_2014983_362x204_1436207480576

Misty Copeland stopped by The View on July 6th to discuss her promotion to Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre. Copland becomes the first African-American dancer to achieve principal status. In addition O&A NYC Magazine includes Copeland’s 60 Minutes Interview. Continue reading

2/13/15 O&A Shall We Dance: Lloyd Knight – A Dancer’s World

Shall We Dance

photo

One of Martha Graham’s most memorable quotes, “It takes ten years, usually, to make a dancer. It takes ten years of handling the instrument, handling the material with which you are dealing, for you to know it completely.” This year marks Lloyd Knight’s tenth year with the Martha Graham Dance Company. His ascent through the ranks of the company culminated with Knight becoming a principal dancer prior to the 2015 New York City season. Continue reading