For a Black dancer like Misty Copeland, the journey to becoming the prima ballerina that she is now takes years of sacrifice. But in one incident where she was asked sacrifice the hue of her skin, the acclaimed dancer drew the line.
At a special launch breakfast for her new Under Armour clothing line, Uncontainable, she told the story of being asked to lighten her appearance in order to play a cat character in a show.
Copeland, 36, says it’s just one example of the challenges Black ballerinas face in an already competitive field where there are few who look like her and fewer who reach her level of success. So much of it, she explains, downplays her blackness.
“I said, ‘Why do I have to be lighter to be a cat? Can I be a brown cat?” Copeland recalled.
Source: Misty Copeland was once told to lighten her skin for a ballet role. Why she said ‘no.’
