Four and...
That's good.
It's coming up.
I think that people think that sometimes I focus too much
on the fact that I'm a black dancer.
But that's so much of who I am,
and I think it's so much a part of my story.
Just making it to this level, I think,
no matter what race you are or what gender,
is a huge accomplishment.
I don't think that people realize what a feat it is
being a black woman.
If they were to, you know, go back and read
that there's never been a black principal woman
at the Royal Ballet, at the Paris Opera Ballet,
at the Kirov Ballet,
in the top companies in the world,
in New York City Ballet in New York City...
I don't think people really understand that.
Hi, Steph.
You okay? You good?
Yeah, I'm okay.
- How you doing? - I'm good.
- You coming tomorrow? - Yeah.
- Okay. - Gonna come and watch everyone.
- You good, though? - Getting better, yeah.
Taking barre?
I did my own barre today, so...
Good.
- Nice to see you. - You too.
She just got injured.
It sucks.
This is... this is it.
I've been coming here since I was 16
to these exact studios.
This Paloma Herrera
in the part of Gamzatti in "La Bayadère,"
and I do this role now, which is so exciting.
I premiered it two years ago,
and I'll do it again this Met season.
This is, like, where we have our rehearsal schedules,
where they put up casting when it's time.
There's usually, like, a basic casting book
that's, like, this big book.
It's like the Bible, and it has, like,
what parts you're learning and, like, you're understudying,
and so you have to, like, go back to that
and then think, "Oh, what part am I understudying?"
And then you have to check, and it's like,
"All Us and alts."
Like, understudies and alternates have to come,
and sometimes you're not called.
It's just confusing, and it took me so many years
to, like, feel comfortable and not, like, be on edge.
Every morning, I come in early.
I'm usually either... I'm alone.
No one's here yet.
I move the barre by myself, which is heavy,
and I put it right here,
and then this is my spot every morning.
Like, if I take class in here, this is exactly where I stand,
'cause then I can see myself in that mirror from the front
and I can see myself in that mirror from the side,
which is nice to be able to, like, see all angles of yourself
when you're working at the barre,
to see, you know, if my leg is in front of me
or if my leg is behind me.
I can see all of that from the side,
make sure that everything is, like,
exactly the way that it needs to be.
So I'm a crazy perfectionist.
So this is my spot.
And sometimes, like, someone will get here first,
and then they take your spot, and you're like,
"Ugh, I have to stand behind them today."
Every great ballet dancer, male or female,
at one point ends up dancing at ABT
or at least desires to dance at ABT.
It was founded in the belief
that we could emulate Russia and France
in terms of having a world-class ballet company.
They perform at the Metropolitan Opera House,
which is considered, bar none,
the most important stage in the world.
I was definitely,
for the majority of my childhood,
in underprivileged communities
and struggling in terms of money.
I was one of six kids.
I was very shy and definitely was
the one in the family that blended in with the background,
'cause everyone was fighting for attention in some way.
I was introduced to ballet at 13,
and it was just this instant connection.
I felt that I could really say something.
I felt like I belonged and that I had a voice.
I started to develop ways
of critically thinking about things,
which I'd never had to do before.
I had to make decisions
on how I was going to approach a step
or using parts of my brain and my body
that I hadn't used before.
The competition is Misty Danielle Copeland.
I got all my fouettés in.
I'm really happy.
Kevin McKenzie approaches me and says,
"Well, you're gonna join the studio company,
but before your contract starts,
we would like for you to come on tour
with the main company for two weeks in China.
And that was just, like, "Oh, my God."
Like, "It's happening."
It's like seeing the turning point in a movie,
and it's happening to me right now.
On that trip to China, I think it was in New York,
like, right before we left,
that I met Leyla, my best friend.
So right away, we clicked, and we got along,
and we were rooming together,
and we became the best of friends.
We just did everything together,
and we kind of had, like, this camaraderie.
We would take trips to Red Lobster in Brooklyn,
'cause at the time, they didn't have one in Times Square.
We would get on the train and travel
to go to some Red Lobster,
and sometimes, if Red Lobster was closed,
we'd go to Sizzler
that was, like, next door.
We... I don't know what it was,
but, like, we...
We loved it.
And then when that Red Lobster opened up in Times Square,
we were like, "Yes!"
When you're in your adolescence
and you're dancing, you don't get to experience
what normal kids get to experience.
You don't date. You don't go to parties.
You don't... you don't hang out.
As soon as school is over,
you're going straight to practice
and to dance class.
That was around the time that I first was being told
to lose weight by ABT,
and I had no idea how to handle that.
I mean, I never had to watch what I ate.
Like, I had no idea how to take care of my body.
It was just naturally the way it was,
and it worked for ballet until I hit puberty,
and then it all changed.
The skinny ideal that a lot of contemporary audiences
associate with ballet today
is strictly a modern phenomenon,
and it can actually be dated to 1963,
when George Balanchine was able to start creating
the ballet and the ballerina
according to a vision he had,
an ideal vision he had, of a dancer.
Post Balanchine, you get these very emaciated body types,
and you get no longer a woman on the stage.
You get these prepubescent girls...
flat-chested,
you know, encouraged not to eat
to the point of not being able to menstruate...
and, you know, that has created a huge,
I think, problem in ballet.
It literally has killed ballerinas
and actually doesn't need to exist at all.
It all kind of hit me at once:
moving to New York,
realizing I was the only African-American woman
in a company of 80 dancers.
I felt like I was sinking for a while.
I felt alone in a world that had become my home,
and it gave me mixed feelings.
I was coming home at night
and just feeling so bad about myself,
and I would call Krispy Kreme,
and they told me they only delivered to...
to, like, big corporations, so I was like,
"Okay, yeah, I'm a corporation.
Can I have two dozen doughnuts?"
And they'd drop them off, and I would eat
a dozen doughnuts in one sitting.
I was overeating because I felt
so bad about myself.
I just started this pattern of, like, feeling so ashamed
that I didn't even want to come to class in the morning.
I didn't want to stare at myself in the mirror.
I first became aware of Misty Copeland
when she joined the company, the corps,
and I would see her in performances,
and she always stood out.
She had what you can't teach and you can't learn.
She had stage presence, and she had a fire
that the other corps-ians did not.
Kevin McKenzie, the artistic director of ABT,
had said to me from the very beginning
when I first mentioned how much I admired Misty
that he felt she had the talent to go the distance
and to go all the way.
The executive director said to me,
"But there's an issue.
"We feel that she has all this promise,
"but she lacks a bit of focus.
"And everybody adores her,
but she is doing some things that stand in her own way."
They did something unprecedented,
which is, they said to me,
"Would you please take her under your wing?
"We would like you to spend time with her.
"We would like you to become her confidante...
"or her consigliere, rather,
"because we feel she's got everything that it takes,
"and she just needs that older woman who can help her."
I began introducing her to women I knew
who had been the first...
whether it was Diahann Carroll
or Veronica Webb, who was the first black model
to have her own cosmetics contract...
women who had blazed trails, to help her understand
that she had the same potential,
to give her a kind of kitchen cabinet of women
who could help her face these hurdles,
because as much as she was beloved in the company
and she was everybody's Misty,
she felt very alone,
and she felt a lot of self-doubt.
And as we began this process
and we were having all our discussions
at ABT about diversity,
one of the things I had said was,
"It's only a matter of time
"before a very ugly article hits the papers
"about the lack of diversity in ballet,
"because it's going to be noticed,
"and we're in the new millennium.
"We're not in 1952, and we still look like
the Alabama country club in 1952."
Sure enough, in the spring,
an article was done, saying,
"Where are the black ballerinas?"
And it was the front page of the Arts & Leisure section.
New York City Ballet was lambasted,
and we were lambasted,
and Misty called me crying.
She was crying, and she was saying,
"I look at this, and I think,
'"Why am I even bothering?
'"Why am I doing what I'm doing?
There's no hope."'
I can tell you that I have been writing about this idea
of the color of ballet since at least the late '80s.
In fact, I have a story from 1990
I just kind of refreshed myself with,
just to see what has changed, what has stayed the same.
And I would say that unfortunately,
a lot has stayed the same.
It is still a ballet blanc, so to speak, you know?
It's very difficult to see people of color
adopt major roles in the classical repertoire.
And tombé pas de bourrée with arms,
and up, relevé, piqué through.
The color of the skin is obviously
a very important aspect
that is kind of taboo.
It's about casting.
Can you be soft and lovely, or do you have to be...
Strong and sexy?
You would make a black dancer just that sexual,
you know, vivacious dancer,
but there's also other roles that
you growing up as a little girl watching "Giselle"
or watching these more ethereal ballerinas,
which you can do, but the color of your skin,
they tend to not let you do those ballets.
And plié.
Don't change and change.
One, two, three, fifth.
Chassé through.
That's it.
Classical ballet is all
based on these fairy-tale stories
many... in many times.
And so if you don't see a black dancer
or a more stocky dancer
as someone who looks like a fairy,
then you're not going to be casted in that role,
which is like,
"Well, who defines what a fairly looks like?
Isn't it a mythical creature?"
I wouldn't go in the sun when I was little.
I... when I was dancing, I was, "No sun.
"You can't get... you can't get any sun,
'cause you have to be as pale as possible."
Like, that was... that paleness is so...
was such a big thing.
The aesthetic of the body is so important in ballet,
and there's... you know, I think George Balanchine...
and forgive me if I'm, you know, not...
I'm not gonna quote him, but I believe George Balanchine
said something to the effect of,
"You know, the skin of a dancer
should be that of a freshly peeled apple,"
and I'm not that.
I turn more into, you know...
I'm the shade of a chestnut come summertime.
So we got to figure this out.
Every dancer that goes through the process
the way I did, through the school,
through the company, you audition,
you're a snowflake for "Nutcracker,"
and you... you're selected
after you do a season of "Nutcracker,"
and then you get into the company.
In my case, that was not the case.
I saw my friends...
It was like my car was going five miles an hour
and everyone else was going, you know, 75.
And I saw my friends just getting into...
into the company, you know?
They were all snowflakes,
and I was sitting on the sidelines melting...
my spirit melting, my esteem melting.
I had done all this hard work, and why wasn't I a snowflake?
I look upon ballet the way I look upon
the symphony orchestra.
They are some of the last bastions
of white supremacy.
And what's interesting is,
if you would talk to these artistic directors
of these ballet companies
or the conductors of the...
they... they don't know.
That's the problem.
They don't realize that they are
at the service of...
they are the lackeys of racism.
I feel like a lot of the time,
what I'm being judged on is my aesthetic,
and it may not be said, but I feel like I just...
a lot of the time, I don't think
that the classical ballet world will ever accept me
because I'm something different.
What you're looking for in ballet
is assimilation and uniformity, okay?
Even for a soloist who's doing a solo,
I mean, it's kind of still in this uniform.
It's not... I hate to say it,
but I don't feel like ballet,
even with the best of choreography,
is so much about individual creativity
or showing the individual.
That's an issue for black ballerinas
in terms of, like, fitting into the mold,
you know, fitting into the box.
I think that people do make judgment
based on, maybe, something they're not even
consciously aware of,
and it may be the fact that I'm black.
It may be the fact that I have a large chest.
It may be the fact that I'm muscular.
They're reaching for change in the classical ballet world
because they think the art form is dying,
but if there isn't change, how can it continue and grow?
I think there has to be change happening.
Just over the course of a couple of years,
there began to be a change.
Kevin McKenzie said to me,
"She's carrying herself differently.
She is never late."
A focus happened.
When she realized that she could represent
something even bigger,
not just a talented dancer
who happened to be African-American
but a talented dancer who... you can be like this too.
Like, it's okay for you to do ballet.
It can be cool.
Your body type isn't going to hold you back.
You can still become this beautiful dancer.
I think when she realized
that she had that opportunity to do that,
it became less about just herself
and more about what she can do to change the world.
There's a private moment that's my favorite moment,
which is the day she called me to say
that she had been promoted,
and we were both just crying on the phone,
because there it was.
When she first called me and told me,
"Oh, my God, I'm gonna be the Firebird,"
now, again, I'm not the ballet expert,
so I don't know what "The Firebird" is.
So Raven Wilkinson, who I'm sure she's told you,
the legendary ballerina...
I called Raven,
because Raven's my history monitor,
and I said, "Do you know if a black woman
has ever performed 'Firebird'... the Firebird?"
And she said, "Well, yeah, Dance Theatre of Harlem."
I said, "No, no, at one of the majors,
like City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre?"
And she said, "No."
I said, "Well, guess what.
"You got to buy a ticket when they go on sale,
because Misty is gonna be the Firebird,"
and she said, "Which one?"
She said, "Which one?"
And I said, "No, the Firebird."
She said, the Firebird?"
"Yes, the... like, the main... like, yes."
"The Firebird" is one of the modern masterpieces,
both from the music standpoint
and the choreographic standpoint,
and it was being reset by Alexei Ratmansky,
who's widely hailed as the sort of Balanchine,
the great choreographer, the great ballet innovator,
the man who is going to save ballet from obsolescence.
And he adores Misty.
I spent, like, I think it was two weeks in this studio
just having "Firebird" created on me,
which is really cool.
Alexei came in with an idea,
but he allowed us to be a part of the creative process,
so if he saw that, you know,
I was attempting to do something
that looked more natural to fall out of it a certain way,
then he would keep it.
And he allowed the three of us Firebirds
to have our own versions
so that it suited our bodies and abilities best.
In a company of 80 dancers
where you've got a lot of stars...
and he could have picked anyone...
for him to pick someone
who's not a prima ballerina but a soloist
and then to pick someone black...
a ballet of this magnitude,
if we look in the annals of ballet
going back to Louis xlv,
it's never happened before.
It is... it's monumental.
The entire dance world was agog,
and certainly every person of color
involved in the dance world was standing up and cheering,
because we'd been waiting for this moment.
Susan Fales-Hill put together
this really great group of women.
She had called me and said,
"Tracey, I want you to experience
a really magical evening."
I invited Debra Lee, the head of BET.
I invited Marva Smalls, who's at MTV, Vacom.
Star Jones was there.
There was just a myriad
of incredibly accomplished black women in the room...
in the box, actually, and we were all there
sharing in the triumph of Misty dancing.
The makeup of the crowd was completely different
than you would see on any other given day at the Met,
and the power of one person to change the...
the crowd who comes to see dance,
I think that was really special.
For a black woman to be the face
of American Ballet Theatre's spring season
at the Metropolitan Opera House,
we knew that something was happening.
My manager, Gilda, was waiting for me outside,
and I walked out, and I looked up,
and I saw that the whole front of the Met
was covered in this woman
with her breasts out and arched back,
and I was like, "Oh, my gosh.
That's a curvy black woman on the front of the Met,
and it's me."
And I just... we both cried, because it meant so much
for the African-American community
to feel welcome in that space.
When she entered the stage,
and it just seemed like collectively,
we all kind of leaned forward,
and it was just the sense
of pride and joy
to just see this talented, strong,
graceful, amazing woman grace the stage.
She came out to give her bows at the end.
It was quite amazing.
There were people in the crowd who were actually crying.
There was an emotional connection to her
and to the fact that this was an historic performance.
To sit in that theater that night,
surrounded by African-American women of accomplishment,
watching a ballerina take center stage
in one of the most important works
just felt like her life had come full circle.
Afterwards, they had a sort of
a meet and greet set up on the stage.
They had tables set up.
I said to Misty, "Wow, you know, I was knocked out.
"This is amazing.
Congratulations."
You know, she had a beautiful outfit on,
she had some high heels on, and she looked perfectly fine,
and she said to me, "I'm in a lot of pain, Nelson."
And I was like, "Whoa, you would never
have known that by watching her,"
but it turned out that she'd been dancing
with severe fractures in her shin.
That night, I came into the theater,
and I was in so much pain,
I didn't know how I was gonna get onstage.
I knew it was there,
but I kind of pushed it to the side,
because I knew how vital that season was for me.
The opportunity to do principal roles as a soloist
I didn't think was something that would come again.
Knowing how much of the black community
was coming to the Met, maybe for the first time,
to support me, I understood
that I had to make it work.
I knew that that night stood for something
so much bigger than me
and beyond what I can even imagine,
so I knew that no matter what I did
on the stage that night,
it was going to be a historical evening.
I think a dancer's pain tolerance
is on another level that I...
I have no idea if it can be compared
to anyone or anything.
When you're onstage and you're standing on one leg
for, you know, five, ten minutes at a time
and you're supposed to look like a beautiful swan
and you have sweat dripping in your eye
and your butt's cramping and your feet are cramping
and then all of a sudden,
you have to get up and start jumping and moving,
that pain is something that every dancer deals with,
and no one really talks about it.
Pointe shoes are uncomfortable.
They hurt.
Your feet, when you first learn how to dance en point,
are going to bleed, sometimes through your shoes.
That's unusual.
Why do we do that?
As soon as dance becomes more athletic,
which it has definitely become in the 21st century,
the body is just beaten up way too much.
Even a great dancer like Mikhail Baryshnikov,
I mean, he blew his knees out from...
like, if you jump high, you land hard.
Here she is dealing with still pain,
trying to figure out,
"How am I going to deal with this?
"But, oh, yeah, I'm 29 years old,
and I'm dealing with the end of my career."
She ended up going to a doctor who works with top athletes
at the New York Hospital for Special Surgery.
He was the only person who was confident that this...
that you will dance again.
Everyone else was telling her, "Your career is over."
So your diagnosis is a mid-tibia stress fracture,
which occurs very commonly in jumping athletes.
So the tibia bone... which is, on her,
the mid-shaft leg bone... it takes all the stress.
Instead of breaking in half, it gets a tiny little break
in the cortex surface,
or the outer surface, of the bone.
They're very slow healing,
so she spent months trying to get this to heal beforehand,
and then we made a decision about how to treat it.
We... our one decision was take a... put a rod.
One option was to take... go near her knee
and put a rod from here all the way down
the bone in her leg inside the bone.
The nice thing about that
is that it takes care of the whole thing.
The disadvantage is,
about 20% of people have some knee pain,
and she's a jumper, so you try not
to mess with her knee at all.
We made an incision right here in the front,
and in that incision,
we found the little stress fractures,
we drilled across them with a needle
to stimulate some bleeding,
we packed the bone marrow cells in there,
and then we put the plate.
When I heard the words "black dreaded line fracture,"
that sounds like death to me.
Like, hearing that word, it was like,
"What does that mean?"
It was scary.
And then finding out that it meant
almost a complete break through my bone...
it's hard to fathom that that can happen from dancing,
but it was just impact over and over and over again,
probably through the course of a year,
that caused it.
Had I continued to dance for who knows how much longer,
my bone could have completely snapped in half.
The rest of the ballet world,
including, I think, her company,
once they realized, you know, the extent of her injuries,
I don't think anyone truly expected her
to be able to come back from that.
You know, you combine
the extent of the injury with her age,
the amount of wear and tear on the body,
I think that they just sort of said,
"One plus one plus one equals three,
"and you're not coming back,
"and if you do come back, you won't be able to come back
and be... you won't be able to pick up where you left off."
In a company like ABT, the talent is endless.
The second you step out for, you know,
the length of time an injury may take to recover from,
you lose that window of opportunity,
and you may never be given the opportunity again.
But there was a lot of time spent just, like,
overanalyzing all of that.
Like, "What am I gonna do?"
I felt like I was gonna let down so many people
who were, like, watching me.
Like, you're creating this path,
and then it was like, "Okay, that's the end of it."
It's been, like, seven months
since I've been working with Marjorie
on floor barre.
I still have a lot to learn.
Want to try it on the other side?
Sure.
If you stand at the barre the way we always do
and will continue to do, you can work your right side
and your left side differently for a lifetime
or until something breaks.
That's true.
That's the way it goes.
Try not to sit in the standing hip.
Good.
As dancers, we know one leg goes up higher,
one leg jumps better,
and the other leg balances better.
Whatever that is,
we need to become as symmetrical as possible.
Want to start again?
Don't bring it up from your quad.
Really lengthen through the inner thigh.
So I was working with Marjorie maybe two months
before I decided to have the surgery.
And then Marjorie was there with me,
I think, two weeks after my surgery
in my apartment, helping me, you know...
I was not walking still,
and we were laying on the floor,
and she was working with me
until I literally couldn't anymore.
I was just, like, exhausted.
She's kind of been there with me,
literally retraining my body
in the middle of my professional career.
- Middy. - Michele!
- Hey. - Oh, my God.
I had no idea it started at 1:00.
- I'm here. - Oh, my gosh, sorry.
No, it's not your... honey, you have enough to worry about.
Did I... I thought we said...
You have a company to run and some roles to dance.
- Hi. - How are you?
I'm good. How are you doing?
Yeah, me too.
I remember being in class with Michele,
like, sitting on the floor of Marjorie's apartment,
and I was contemplating, like,
when I was gonna go back to ABT.
They were really, like, nudging me, like,
"You need to come now," and I was like,
"I'm not ready; I'm not ready."
Michele Wiles started BalletNext
with Charles Askegard,
was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre,
and she was a good friend of mine.
And Michele said,
"Why don't you do a performance with us first,
and maybe you'll feel more comfortable and secure?"
And I was like, "Oh, my gosh.
I don't know."
She's like, "Why don't you do something
"that's more simple, you know, doesn't take a lot,
there's no jumping,"
and, "Why don't you do 'The Dying Swan'?"
And I was like, "That's brilliant,
but I'm terrified."
- There's the superstar. - Are you done here?
- Merde, yes. - Okay.
- Have fun, okay? - Thank you.
Well, what did you think, Coach?
It was okay.
Um...
I didn't fall.
It just wasn't, like, what I'm used to.
I didn't use the space like I should have,
but no stumbling, so it was okay.
People liked it.
- It was beautiful. - Thank you.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better.
That was rough.
First time... first time in the game in a while.
First time in a year.
I'm glad that's over.
Well...
I am.
I know...
- I know you! - Hey.
- I've been listening. - You hot, beautiful girl.
Everyone gets confused
and gets off on the second floor...
- I did. - Because it's 29.
I know; every single one of my girlfriends do.
Oh, I'm so glad I'm not the only dummy.
No, it's not dumb at all.
I'm Nelson.
- I met you at the... - Yeah, I know.
- I remember. - Good to see you again.
Good to see you again.
We were tooling around on the stage...
Absolutely, absolutely.
It was beautiful.
Trying to find our way in and out.
- Good. - Bless her heart.
I'm worried about her, you know.
She doesn't worry about anything.
How... you were gonna do everything today.
Look at you, how beautiful you look.
I did the show last night, and then...
- Oh, you did? - Yeah.
'Cause I didn't know whether it was tonight.
It's tonight as well.
- Oh! - Yeah.
And I thought to myself, "How's she doing?"
Did you take class?
Yeah, I already took class this morning.
I knew that would be.
I don't know how she does it.
You know, in my... in my youth youth,
I didn't have the energy she has.
You're so sweet.
Isn't this nice? Hello, ladies!
This is Raven, everyone.
I'm Raven.
- How is everything? - I'll take your umbrella.
Look at how... how was class?
It was fine.
- I took Dameon Howard. - Oh, you did?
- Yeah, he's doing well. - But I mean, the other day.
- Um... oh, with the company? - Yeah.
It was fine.
I'm gonna take company class again Saturday...
- Yeah. - So we'll see.
How... did you... could you get through it all,
or you stopped a little?
- Well, I'm not jumping. - Yeah.
I'm not doing grand allegro, so I did part of it,
but my meeting was, like, halfway through,
so I had to leave early.
Yeah, and how... oh, good, you had a good excuse.
- I had a good excuse to be... - How was that?
- It was fine. - I'll just put this here.
It was kind of pointless to meet with them
because I'll have more information
after my doctor's appointment today.
- That is so beautiful. - It's pretty swollen.
I bumped into my bed, and mine looks worse than that.
No, that's gorgeous.
- But yeah, I mean... - What work did he do?
'Cause you haven't seen me since the surgery, right?
- No, no. - Yeah, so that...
And I never saw anything before.
I had no idea you had this problem.
Well, you... you couldn't tell.
No, she dances so beautifully.
- It's doing very well. - Yeah.
- The scar looks straight. - Lookit, she's so strong.
Look at the ankles and the feet.
I'm getting there.
- Well, he did a marvelous job. - He really did.
You know, medicine and a good doctor is an artist.
Yeah, that's true.
He was most concerned with the scar
more than anything else.
I was concerned 'cause you can wear...
- My high heels? - No one wants her...
Oh, what were you gonna say?
- No. - Oh, tights?
- No, you can cover up. - Right.
You know, I know you don't really want to,
but I was much more concerned about what was going on inside.
- So am I. - Yeah, but it's...
- So we'll see. - Yeah, look at you, though.
- Still a bit sensitive, though. - You're flexing here.
I've been thinking about
the very first time that I found out who you were,
which to me is really crazy that it was
far into my career as a professional already,
and I saw the film "The Ballet Russe."
- A lot of books... - There wasn't that much said...
Right.
Because when I came along,
the less said was the better, you know?
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, I just went as I was and who I was,
but people, they thought it wasn't nice
to talk about race or I might be insulted.
I mean, I... yeah, I think...
So a lot of it wasn't like... now we have this time span,
and now people are very interested,
and people don't talk about it
and especially younger people, you know.
I mean, I think it's important
to be able to discuss it, because then it forces people
to kind of confront the issues.
But yes, the first time I saw you
was in "The Ballet Russe" film, and I cried my eyes out
because I didn't even know
that a black ballerina of your level existed,
and so that was kind of the start
of this mission I had, you know,
to learn more about black ballerinas,
to try and educate other people about who you are,
who Janet Collins is, and so that's kind of
how this all got started.
You know...
You know, when you start out looking.
Yes, in the pose.
Yeah.
And that's your pose,
and then we were doing the cygnets.
- Oh, right. - Yes.
We did the same... we did the same part,
so it's hard for us to both...
Well, I think I've done it in other positions.
Yeah, you kind of... you just...
You kind of have to be ready to jump into any of the slots.
You... I had to go into it...
But we both... and you're used to doing
the quick... the quick head switching.
Oh, yes, did you do that?
And there's different versions.
- Yeah. - And...
Oh, my goodness.
And then go. Then you take off like...
Oh, wow.
Yeah, and then the emboȊtés.
- Going back to the corner. - Yeah.
- Did you do the emboȊtés? - Oh, right!
That's it.
And then the pas de chats, and you just...
Right, and that...
Did you look forward, or did you look over
when you did the pas de chats?
- No, I think we looked left. - Yes, over.
- Yeah. - I mean your right.
- Right. - When you're going right.
Over the direction you're going.
And then comes the pause and then a fouetté.
Back.
And then the passés at the end.
Passé, passé, passé.
Oh, God, yes.
- Did you do the heads that way? - Yes, yup.
- And then all of a sudden... - And then you let go.
Barump, barump on the knee.
Let's see, and how did the hands go?
We went... we went this way and then this way to finish.
- That's it, yeah. - Is that how you did it?
Yup.
- Same old, same old. - Never changes.
No.
Well, little things here and there.
Those little swans,
we don't want to lose them in the lake, so...
But, oh, just...
It's incredible that you still
remember all those little details.
Yeah, isn't it?
And I mean, when you hear the music...
It just comes back.
- It's in your body. - Yeah.
Do you have a needle?
Oh, no, I got it.
It was hiding.
I got it.
Thank you.
90 degrees, fifth.
Fifth.
Ronde de jambe.
And one, two, three.
Okay.
- How are you? - Just fine, and you?
Eh.
I think I... I could have pulled something,
but I had a back spasm.
- When, yesterday? - The first day in Rome.
- First day in Rome. - First day?
It started, yeah. I just...
During the performance or the rehearsal?
No, getting into the van.
- Getting into the van? - Yeah.
Oh, come on.
That's when they happen.
When did it happen?
Two days ago.
So last night was the worst.
I couldn't breathe.
It feels, also, like my sacrum or something is stuck.
No, no.
Yeah.
Yes.
No.
Relax.
Okay.
Okay, now on your side and face the wall.
Yeah, towards him on your right side.
Do you have pain?
- Yes. - Sì.
Okay.
It cracked.
- Pain? - Yes.
Sì.
- Pain? - Yes, same place.
Okay.
Grazie.
Uh...
Tomorrow.
Yes, yes.
I think.
So tightest.
Tight.
Except for these two ladies right here.
- Thank you. - I know that's what he meant.
Well, no, if she's with you, that's fine.
I'm not worried about that.
Oh, that was your daughter? No, you can stay here, then.
I'm sorry.
I didn't know that was your daughter.
- Are they with you? - Yeah.
Okay, no, if they're with you, that's fine.
I didn't know it was your daughter.
Misty, Misty, do me a favor.
I'm gonna have them just move back.
Just move back.
Just move back a little bit.
Thank you.
- Hello. - Hi.
- Brilliant performance. - Thank you.
Thank you very much.
This is for my daughter, Allison.
She took a picture with you when she was four.
- Oh, my God. - And that's on the other side.
I have to see this.
- That's you and her. - Oh, my God!
14 years ago,
and she's always wanted to meet you,
and here she is right here.
Oh, my God.
How old am I?
Can take a pic...
I think you're 12, 14.
I remember telling her not too long ago,
with everything that's happening...
the book deals, the Under Armour endorsement,
you know, the Coach deal,
just everything that's going on,
the Diet Dr Pepper, the speaking engagements...
you know, "I... I understand
"that principal is what you're aiming for,
"but what I think you've built...
"what I think we've built...
"is so much bigger than that,
"that, you know, what we have is not something
"that ABT or anyone else can take away from you.
"And whereas before, you felt very alone,
"you've got the world on your side,
"so for all intents and purposes,
"you've won.
You've won, whether you become"...
because in people's minds, she is a principal.
She is the star.
I cannot tell you
how many black men I know who...
I think they'd rather go to Iraq,
have a relationship conversation,
or have root canal than go see a ballet.
But suddenly, they saw an interview with Misty,
and they're like, "You know, aren't you
"involved with ABT?
Can I come see a performance?"
They're following her career.
They email me things about her.
That's sort of the hormonal contingent.
When she gets people in the theater,
people are actually moved by the art form
and realize this isn't a bunch of boring people in tutus.
It's exciting. It's raw.
It's sexy. It's alive.
It's about the stuff of human life.
♪ I need some time, please ♪
♪ My battery has died ♪
♪ I need to plug in ♪
♪ Just be electrified ♪
♪ I need to reboot ♪
♪ Or I am bound to crack ♪
♪ Don't know how long my backup disk would last ♪
Her ultimate goal is to bring people
of all backgrounds to ballet,
people who never saw themselves
sitting inside the Metropolitan Opera House,
making them feel welcome.
- Hello. - She told me it's next Sunday.
It's good to see you.
Damn!
I got scared when I came around the corner.
- What? - Ah!
You really hadn't been?
No, I haven't been yet.
I've just seen photos.
Oh, my God.
And you can read your name from it too.
I was like this, "Ah!"
I thought I'd missed something drastic.
- How are you? - How are you?
Don't do anything crazy.
- Good to see you. - Hi!
Oh, my God. Are you ready for this?
This is amazing.
We were just talking about you too.
We were just like...
And I'm like, "Hold on."
And she's like, "Do I talk to her?"
I was like, "I literally see her
everywhere on Facebook."
Like, everyone is like, "Wow, look at this."
Just see 'em work, girl.
See 'em work.
- It was nice to meet you. - Thank you so much.
- Yeah, same here, same here. - Congratulations.
You're larger than life.
Now you literally are larger than life.
We're all so proud of you, and you will what you want.
- Cheers. - I will what I want.
Go, Misty.
Thank you guys for coming down.
Thank you.
Aw!
This is what athletes do.
I didn't change my shoes this time.
We will talk about...
I did exactly what you told me not to do.
- We will talk. - Okay.
You're doing very hard for yourself.
You do it like this and then try
to stay on the pointe and go there.
Yeah.
Don't finish over there, and then we will come.
It's a major coup, I think,
that ABT has recently cast Misty
to play Odette/Odile in "Swan Lake,"
one of the most iconic ballets in the classical repertoire.
People think ballet, they think "Swan Lake,"
but they don't usually think of a black white swan.