Mid-1990s: Thirteen-year-old Misty Copeland takes her first ballet class at a Boys & Girls Club in San Pedro
In the mid-1990s a thirteen-year-old girl named Misty Copeland was living with her mother and five siblings in a single motel room in San Pedro, California.
Her childhood had been marked by constant moves and scarcity. One day her school drill-team coach noticed her natural grace and suggested she try ballet. Misty attended a free class at a local Boys & Girls Club, borrowing a pair of slippers. Within months her teachers recognized an unusual talent. Most dancers begin training years earlier; she was already a teenager.
She progressed rapidly, moving on to more intensive classes and performing lead roles while still in her teens. The late start that might have closed doors instead became the foundation of a professional career. In 2015 she was named the first African American principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre.
The path began with a free class on a basketball court and a borrowed pair of slippers.