Misty Copeland

Misty Copeland (born September 10, 1982) is an American ballet dancer, described by many accounts as the first African American female soloist for the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States (along with New York City Ballet and San Francisco Ballet). However, Anne Benna Sims and Nora Kimball, who were with the ABT in the early and mid-1980s respectively, preceded her. In this role as the third African-American soloist and first in two decades with ABT, she has endured the cultural pressure associated with it.