📍San Pedro, Los Angeles, CA 90731, USA
1985 – 2000“Misty Copeland was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in September 1982, and grew up in California, the fourth of six children of Sylvia DelaCerna. Her childhood was unsettled: her mother moved the family many times, through several marriages, before they settled in San Pedro, the port district of Los Angeles, by the harbour. Money was very short, and for a time the family of seven lived together in a single room at a motel. Misty was shy and anxious, but she loved to dance, choreographing routines to Mariah Carey songs at home. Her first formal dance was with the drill team at Dana Middle School, and the coach, Elizabeth Cantine, saw her talent and suggested she try a free ballet class taught by Cynthia Bradley at the San Pedro Boys and Girls Club. Misty was thirteen, very late to start ballet, but Bradley recognised a prodigy: within weeks she was dancing en pointe. As her training intensified, Misty moved in with the Bradley family to be closer to the studio. After a summer programme at San Francisco Ballet, a painful custody dispute between her mother and the Bradleys made headlines, and Misty returned home and went to San Pedro High School, training at another studio. In 2000 she won a scholarship to American Ballet Theatre's summer programme, and joined the company in 2001. In 2015 she became the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer at ABT in its history. She has inspired countless young dancers, and she has worked with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, where her own journey began.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today