2024 Lecturer
Misty Copeland

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 2024 Marian McFadden Memorial Lecture. Seated together on stage, Ashley C. Ford and Misty Copeland shared an evening of companionable conversation about Misty's experiences, her mentors, and the life-changing power of opportunities to explore the arts.

You can read more in Misty's most recent book, The Wind at My Back: Resilience, Grace, and Other Gifts From My Mentor, Raven Wilkins (2022).

print book | e-book | downloadable audiobook

"Misty Copeland made history as the first African-American principal ballerina at the American Ballet Theatre. Her talent, passion, and perseverance enabled her to make strides no one had accomplished before. But as she will tell you, achievement never happens in a void. Behind her, supporting her rise was her mentor, Raven Wilkinson, who had been virtually alone in her quest to breach the all-white ballet world when she fought to be taken seriously as a Black ballerina in the 1950s and 60s. A trailblazer in the world of ballet decades before Misty's time, Raven faced overt and casual racism, hostile crowds, and death threats for having the audacity to dance ballet. The Wind at My Back tells the story of two unapologetically Black ballerinas, their friendship, and how they changed each other--and the dance world--forever."

At the end of the lecture, young ballet students had the opportunity to ask Misty a question. One of them was, if you could tell young dancers one thing, what would it be?

"You have the power to not let other people's words define you."

Misty Copeland is the author of the New York Times Bestselling memoir, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, co-written with award-winning journalist and author Charisse Jones. She has also published several children’s books including the award-winning Firebird, illustrated by Christopher Myers, and Bunheads, a biographical glimpse of young Misty as she makes friends and auditions for a role in Coppélia.

Misty is a celebrated artist, making history as the first black woman to perform the lead role of Odette/Odile in American Ballet Theatre’s Swan Lake. In June 2015, Misty was promoted to principal dancer, making her the first African American woman to ever be promoted to the position in the company’s 75-year history.