“If everyone knew how physically cruel dancing really is, nobody would watch,” said Margot Fonteyn, prima ballerina assoluta of The Royal Ballet. “Only those people who enjoy bull fights.” From The ...

But her purpose, Copeland says, is far greater than making history on stage or in print. And, she insists, being a first in no way erases the ballet world’s race problem. “The ballet world doesn’t ...

The world knows Misty Copeland as the first African-American principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre — her image splashed across billboards from coast to coast. But her purpose, Copeland ...