Misty Copeland is an absolute inspiration to all, whether you’re a dancer or not. She has broken through barriers over and over again, including becoming the first African-American Female Principal Dancer in the American Ballet Theater. She has published several books, worked with numerous charitable organizations, and now she’s hitting the big screen for the first time as The Ballerina in The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Her dance is one of the highlights of the movie and while it’s just one scene, it is one that leaves a lasting impression!
Read on to hear what she had to say about getting involved in the movie, what it’s like to have your own Barbie, and more!
How did you get involved in this project?
They reached out to me which was kind of shocking. I’m not an actress but I understand the Nutcracker connection. [Misty has danced in The Nutcracker on stage.] It was a fit and they were just really organic about letting me take the lead. They’re like, ‘We don’t know ballet, this isn’t our world.’ They allowed me to choose a choreographer so I selected Liam Scarlet- he’s a choreographer in residence for the Royal Ballet in London and I had worked with him before. He was young so that’s like not common that you see like in the ballet world, the Ballet Masters are all in like their ‘60s.
I think when they brought the idea to me, it was based on the Nutcracker book, it wasn’t based on the Nutcracker ballet so there was no ballet in this version of the story. They were like, ‘You can’t do the Nutcracker and not have ballet in it,’ so they created this character for me, the Ballerina Princess, just as a way to have ballet in it. I’m the storyteller so a performance would be there to kind of share the story of the four realms and tell it to Clara so it’s awesome.
Now that we’ve seen you perform in film, do you hope to do more movies?
I don’t know if I will say that me in particular. I don’t want to limit myself- looking back, I never in a million years would have been like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna write 3 books.’ But I feel like I’m just leaving things open to like fall into place organically. Something that I don’t think I realized until maybe 4-5 years ago was how much I enjoyed acting on stage, which is very different from using your words and acting, it’s all through the movement in your body.
But I do have a Production Company- it’s called Life In Motion like my book. We haven’t done anything yet, it’s a long process, but I think that I want to be able to be an authentic voice for dance in this medium. It’s difficult to watch dance films and not always feel like it’s truly representing who we are, so I feel like that’s a responsibility that I have and want to do that in the future.
What kind of training did you do, did you do any special training for this?
Just my normal ballet because I don’t act in it, I have no speaking parts in it. I had some rehearsals. My schedule is just so tight, and the choreographer, Liam, flew out from London and literally there was no set plan.
We filmed a lot of movement that I didn’t even really use in the film but we did it because we wanted them to see that I can dance. But then when we got on the set, we adjusted to being in this massive space where they created the sets and everything which made me feel like I was at home, made me feel like I was in like the theatre performing on a stage because it wasn’t in front of a green screen. It allowed you to really feel the magic like you were actually there. There was no special training, just the typical- take my ballet class every morning and go to set and dance for like 10 hours.
Is this your second doll with Barbie? How did you feel about the first one and the second one.
The second one came along so fast- before I knew it, I was like oh, okay, it’s here, there’s another one. The first one was a lot of work, I was very involved. I made it very clear that I wanted it to be a true representation of me and what I stand for- just don’t take Barbie’s body and paint her brown. I want her to have boobs. I want her to have thigh muscles and calves. I want her nose to be wider than Barbie’s, and the lips to be full.
They kept coming back to me and I was like, ‘The boobs aren’t big enough!’ So then we padded the bra for the Firebird Barbie. So we already had the mold when we did this one for my character in the Disney film, so all they had to do was put a white wig on her and put a little dress on her and they changed the makeup a little bit. But it is so incredible, something that I loved my whole life. My Mom had to take the Barbies away from me because she was like, it’s not OK at this old, so this has to end. It’s amazing to have a brown Barbie that somebody can see themselves tied in.
On making ballet more available to the masses:
[People think] that it’s too exclusive and it’s a lot. I helped to start a diversity initiative through American Ballet Theatre in conjunction with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America of Project CA. I’ve worked with so many different organizations, like one that is really dear to my heart, Mind Leaps in Rwanda, it allows me to see structural things that I can then bring back to the States. I think it’s about going to those communities and making those communities feel comfortable. It’s not about bringing in like some white teachers and being like “We’re gonna save you!” I think it’s about training the people that are there in those communities so they can teach their communities. That’s a huge step that we can take in just this natural growth of diversified dance.
What would you tell young girls, not only about following their dreams but overcoming adversity?
It’s hard for young people to accept or ask for support or guidance. I think it’s important to first just to have belief in yourself, true belief- that you don’t have to look like the person next to you; what you see on Instagram is not necessarily beauty just because that’s what you pushed in your face. I think being an individual is so much more beautiful. I just try to tell young people to own that and be confident in who you are.
You’ve been such a player in terms of empowerment- you’re such an inspiration. What kind of a message do you want girls to take away from this movie?
I think that this film couldn’t be a more amazing platform for ballet to be introduced to the masses, to those people that maybe don’t feel welcome to step through the doors of the Metropolitan Opera House. Everyone goes to the movies- it’s a place you can dream and fantasize and so forth, I think first of all, for the cast being as diverse as it is, is amazing. And then for this next generation to see a brown ballerina in this Nutcracker film that will live on and in {hopefully sooner than} maybe 30 years that you’ll be able to say like ‘Oh, that’s what a ballerina looks like.’ But its not like “That’s a black ballerina, that’s so rare.” And that to me, is just so incredible and empowering and I think that’s something that Disney Movies have done for me like growing up. For them to see representation and possibilities and limitless opportunities for themselves. That’s what I hope they take away.
Where you can see Misty next:
American Ballet Theatre is going to be in Los Angeles in December performing at the Orange County Performing Arts Center and we’re doing The Nutcracker so you can come and see me dance if you want. If you go to ABT.org and look for my name, if you see Copeland then I’m performing that night.
Want to learn more about The Nutcracker and the Four Realms? Check out my experience at the World Premiere, full review, and interview with Mackenzie Foy {Clara}! You can learn more about the movie on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or by following the #DisneysNutcracker or #DisneysNutcrackerEvent hashtag!
Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is in theaters RIGHT NOW! You can grab your tickets wherever tickets are sold.
[…] As you can see, there’s still more to explore even if you’ve seen the movie! I loved the Misty Copeland feature- she is SUCH an inspiration! {If you love her as much as I do, be sure to check out my interview with Misty Copeland!} […]