Welcome to En Pointe, a quarterly series that takes a deep dive into the intersection of beauty and dance through the eyes of emerging, multidisciplinary dance talents. Expect an intimate look at the daily lives, dreams, and essentials of dance-bag beauty from the industry’s best young artists.
It’s been over a decade since I last stepped into my light-filled ballet studio, smelling faintly of resin, wood and super-strength hair spray, but I still find myself slipping easily into the dance variations I had memorized like a prayer… Tombe, Pas de Boury, Glissade, Jetté. Those four steps, among others, are how I habitually move myself from room to room in my home, now that I’ve traded in my Freed of London pointe shoes for the comfort of shearling slippers. While my tea is sipping I find myself pulling myself up against the back of my sofa as a makeshift ballet bar to help me balance, and I always feel better when my hair is pulled away from my face into a bun at the top of my head.
Sure, I no longer spend my Friday evenings after a week of classes and rehearsals icing my sore muscles or sewing ribbons on my pointe shoes as if my life depended on it, but I don’t believe that a ballerina ever really stops being a ballerina. As soon as you fall in love with art, it becomes ingrained in your DNA and stays with you even after you step out of the spotlight for the last time. I consider myself fortunate to have dedicated several years to training in it and to have done so at the same time with Misty Copeland, American Ballet Theatre’s first black principal dancer. Copeland was the first dancer I really remember seeing myself in and she has been one of my biggest inspirations as an artist. I caught up with Copeland to learn more about her career’s most defining moments, next steps, and beauty rituals.
Article continues below
Meet Misty Copeland: Former Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theater and Author
In the 25 years she has spent with American Ballet Theatre, she has not only given us some of the most stunning productions we have ever known (her heartbreakingly beautiful take on the innocent and naive Juliet Capulet remains rent-free in my mind) but has paved the way for other brown ballerinas like me to do the same. Although she is the definition of a “ballet genius”, Copeland did not begin dancing until the age of 13, but her meteoric rise in the dance world defied centuries of convention designed to limit her success as a Black dancer. Her pioneering career inspired the reexamination of many norms that were once accepted by the community, from pointe-shoe shades to reframing the largely European narrative of the ballet body.
On October 22, 2025, she retired with a spectacular final performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Balcony pas de deux with Calvin Royal III, Twyla Tharp Sinatra Suite with Herman Cornejo, and wreka stoA modern work by Kyle Abraham at Lincoln Center. Thousands of people watched the event in person and online. Two months later, she quietly underwent hip-replacement surgery. However, most recently, Copeland made a surprise appearance in the 98th Academy Awards as part of Ryan Coogler’s musical presentation sinners. She also appeared as the cover star for The Strength Issue – a collaborative platform of Aveeno and TogetherXR alongside athletes Sophia Wilson, Cameron Brink, and Ali Truwitt.
For me, this was more than just an opportunity to prove myself. It was about the Black community coming and being able to see themselves represented on this stage at Lincoln Center (Metropolitan Opera House), where you don’t get a chance to see us leading a ballet.
That said, Copeland didn’t initially dream of becoming a ballerina, but self-expression through any movement was like another language to an introverted person like her. He was brought up in a household where communication through speech was not the focus, but musicality and lyricism were exalted. As a high school student, Copeland became captain of the drill team and caught the eye of her coach, who later encouraged her to hone her natural ability with training. Copeland’s ballet journey began on the basketball court of the Boys & Girls Club as part of a free program. Copeland says, “It wasn’t until I stepped into a ballet studio that I finally felt like I was seen and like I had a voice that worked for me. I loved performing, which made no sense to me, but for some reason, the technique of ballet gave me a new language.” On stage, she felt free, in control, powerful and strong and she already knew that as long as she could dance, she would never look back.
Although there are probably many defining moments in any dancer’s career when they feel as if they discovered their true potential, there is usually one moment they can remember that also changed the direction of their career. For Copland, this was when he was offered the opportunity to play the lead role in Igor Stravinsky’s The Firebird. As a soloist, she was the first black woman to hold this role in her own company. She explains, “For me, it was more than just a chance to prove myself. It was about the black community coming and being able to see ourselves represented on this stage at Lincoln Center (Metropolitan Opera House), where you can’t see us leading a ballet.”
At the time, Copeland and her managers were devoting time to visiting public schools in under-resourced and underrepresented communities and talking about what it means to be a part of sports and the arts. for his performance in The FirebirdThe audience was filled with people from the same communities who were demonstrating for him. Copeland explains, “To see them all come to the Met that night – it was so dark! It was a huge shock to see a movement happening in real time towards diversity and inclusion in ballet.” When one of the theater’s longtime janitors asked if all these adoring spectators were related to him, he responded by saying that although the 3000 people were not related, they were all considered family.
setting the stage for change
Thirteen years later, when he decided to take on his final job as a principal at American Ballet Theatre, Copeland felt at peace with his decision. The dancer decided that she would be the “architect” of how her program would turn out, rather than leaving it to someone else’s terms – making her own choices when the time was right. She says, “I wasn’t going to be pulled out of my pointe shoes! I knew I was going to be in control and wanted this to be a moment where I did roles that were really impactful to me.” while he watched The Firebird As one of his most important roles, he chose the excerpt from Romeo and Juliet. She was originally scheduled to perform the ballet as the beloved Romeo Montague with the Royal in early 2020, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
For Copeland, playing the role of Juliet Capulet provided an opportunity to expand her acting abilities and effectively changed the way she viewed her artistry and the types of roles she imagined herself playing. Copeland explains, “It was really important to be able to do that with Calvin as the two black leads for the first time in the company’s history.” he also chose to perform Sinatra Suite as a part of her farewell performance, since Tharp’s work had been her favorite since she was 16 when she was first exposed to it. As for the high emotions of the night, she felt completely relaxed and intent on enjoying her time on stage while avoiding worsening her hip injury.
I wasn’t about to be dragged along by my pointe shoes! I knew I would be in control and wanted this to be a moment where I took on roles that were really impactful to me.
Copeland’s advocacy for inclusion and diversity in the ballet world did not end with her departure from American Ballet Theatre, and she regularly highlights individuals like Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Ashton Edwards, who are also champions of change. Copeland says, “There are people who are part of the inclusion effort and want to see change, and things have moved forward! In the pandemic era, especially, there have been a lot of changes in the ballet world.”
One of the biggest conversations raised about equality in ballet was how darker-skinned dancers have to “pancake” their pointe shoes to accentuate their skin tone. When Copeland started dancing at the age of 13, she started pancakeing her pointe shoes. At first, as a professional dancer, she was provided shoes made to order in her skin color, but this ended when the company behind it decided that the production costs were too high as no other dancers with her skin color needed them. Then, she shared a heartbreaking fact: Copeland wore pointe shoes for the farewell performance for the first time, which she herself did not wear. “It took 25 years of my professional career to see that change, and that was my last performance,” she says. “Isn’t that crazy?” While major ballet schools and companies have begun to allow pointe shoes and tights in colors other than pink as a nude color for the uniform, it is still not an industry standard.
strength in numbers
Copeland being featured on the cover of the Aveeno x TogetherXR Strength Issue is a true testament to the athleticism of ballet as a sport and art. While she sees her career as a professional dancer as a reason to create a platform and establish a voice for change in the world of ballet, Copeland shared that she has also advocated for elevating the voices and power of women at the intersection of sports and dance. “As dancers, we are also athletes, but we are not always seen that way. So when this partnership opportunity came up, it was a perfect fit because it was with Aveeno And I’m a big fan of TogetherXR for their work with female athletes.”
She’s honored to have created The Strength Issue for changing the narrative of how we talk about women’s strength and how it is perceived, and everything that goes along with it. “As dancers, we focus a lot on our bodies through our training, and it’s at the forefront of everything we do. Ballet has taught me how important it is to have a ritual that prepares you for your day and relaxes your mind,” she adds. That’s how Copeland looks at her aging skin-care ritual. “My routine looks the same way I approach a ballet class — I don’t want a ton of steps, but I want quality. For me, that’s moisturization,” she says. “At 43, I’ve spent so many years on stage with lights falling on my skin and a lot of bruises. I love Aveeno’s song healing ointment For them!”
(Image credit: Courtesy of Aveeno)
Buy Ballerina-Approved Aveeno Body & Skincare
aveeno
Skin Relief Treatment Ointment for Dry Skin
aveeno
Skin Relief Moisturizing Lotion
aveeno
Skin Relief Body Wash
aveeno
Daily Moisturizing Body Wash
aveeno
daily moisturizing lotion
aveeno
Positively Radiant Brightening Cleanser
aveeno
daily moisturizing face lotion
