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It’s not often that a classical ballet dancer finds her first spark of inspiration in a woodshop class, but that’s how Misty Copeland’s story begins.
It was in a Boys and Girls Club where Copeland — now a soloist with the American Ballet Theatre — says she first learned to harness her creativity by signing up for a woodshop class at age 11. “I know it sounds sort of crazy,” says Copeland, “but I loved that class. For the first time I had an outlet for this creativity I was feeling. It was a whole new world.”
It wasn’t until two years later that Copeland noticed a dance class in the club gym, but she says she could only watch it at first, too scared to attempt it herself. But before long, the instructor pulled her from the sidelines and, in gym clothes and socks, she took her first ballet class. “I had found my voice,” says Copeland.
An unprecedented four years later, Copeland was dancing at Lincoln Center with the American Ballet Theatre, one of the most prestigious dance companies in the world.
Copeland credits the Boys and Girls Club with helping to launch her career as one of the few African-American classical ballerinas in the world. Last month, Copeland spoke at the Hilton Head Island Boys and Girls Club and was on hand to congratulate the island’s Youth of the Year, Angel Nicole Jones, whose path at the local club also began with dance.
