Misty Copeland Is 1st Black Ballerina to Perform as the Swan Queen With American Ballet Theatre

It's a bit alarming that folks are still achieving "first black person to" status, but the fact that history is being made and doors are being broken down for African Americans is a beautiful thing. Suggested Reading You Know Of The Tuskegee Airmen, But You Don’t Know What ‘The Harlem ‘Hellfighters’ Did to Win The…

It's a bit alarming that folks are still achieving "first black person to" status, but the fact that history is being made and doors are being broken down for African Americans is a beautiful thing.

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Misty Copeland has become the first African-American ballerina to perform in the lead role of the Swan Queen in American Ballet Theatre's production of Swan Lake. Vanity Fair broke down the significance of this casting, explaining that the role of the Swan Queen is usually a stepping-stone toward becoming a principal dancer with ABTβ€”a highly coveted and prestigious achievement in the world of ballet.Β 

Kudos to Copeland. Her debut was on Wednesday and received rave reviews.Β 

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Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele is a staff writer atΒ The RootΒ and the founder and executive producer ofΒ Lectures to Beats,Β a Web series that features video interviews with scarily insightful people. FollowΒ Lectures to BeatsΒ onΒ FacebookΒ andΒ Twitter.

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