For the dance and theater community, this year of quarantine has also meant a year off of the stage and out of work. ABT Principal Dancer and author Misty Copeland spoke to HollywoodLife.com about how she’s keeping her ballerina muscles lengthened, strengthened and toned while she waits for the arts to open up again. “I’m far from my ballerina shape right now, it’s just pretty impossible when we aren’t in-studio, and we don’t have the proper setting and studio space to really be in the shape we need to be in. It’s been a lot about being creative with how I’m staying in shape,” the legendary dancer who is currently rehabbing a back injury told HL in an EXCLUSIVE interview. “I do a lot of Zoom classes, whether it’s taking Pilates or taking company ballet class. It’s difficult and this is one of the reasons that it’s important to shine a light on how much more support the ballet world needs.”
Misty continued, “We’re not making money like professional athletes. So, when it comes to moments like this, we don’t have access to facilities where we live, and I think this moment is really shining a light on how much more support the arts truly need, especially with theaters shut down. I think it’s really exposing all of the holes that we need to improve in the arts.”
While she continues to work through a back injury, Misty is also working on a new book that she’s “wanted to do for a long time.” “I often talk about that you can open up a ballet book and not find one Black ballet dancer or anything about their history and contributions to the dance world,” she explained. “I wanted to start the process of making my own Black ballerina history book. It’s not quite a thorough documentation of every Black ballerina that’s ever existed, but it’s a group of dancers that have impacted my life in some way that I think the world should know about.”
Misty spoke with HL to discuss a new social campaign she’s the perfect fit for. Ford is celebrating the strength of women with the launch of the #ShowSomeMuscle Social Campaign, featuring stories from Misty and more formidable females. “It’s an amazing opportunity to join forces of Ford and pay tribute to strong women with this really sexy car of Mustang Mach-E, the first all-electric Mustang powered by women!” she said. “The fact that a woman was behind designing it, it just goes along with everything I stand for.”
To further highlight the #ShowSomeMuscle Campaign, Ford contracted Detroit-bred and based fine artist and muralist, Sydney James, to create custom artwork for a “muscle tee” that pays homage to strong women. Misty will wear the “Madonna of Muscle” t-shirt, abreast of Ford’s partners and participants gifted during the campaign.