Dancing With Misty Copeland

Last week the classroom was filled with the joy of dancing!

The Rivers Class studied ballerina, Misty Copeland as part of our Black History Month work.  They thoroughly enjoyed it!  Misty Copeland is a ballet dancer for the American Ballet Theatre. She was the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in ABT’s 75-year history. There have been very few black dancers rise to prominent positions in the United States.

Misty did not begin dancing until she was 13 years old (very late for a dancer), and she quickly advanced. She was considered a ballet prodigy. Her family went through some difficult times, often struggling to make ends meet.  Her dance teacher recognized her talent and helped her to continue dancing.  Misty expresses incredible gratefulness to those who helped her get where she is and to those who came before her.  She hopes to be an inspiration to bring more diversity to the world of dance, both dancers and audiences.

The children loved learning about her, watching her dance, hearing stories she has written, and dancing themselves.  In addition to doing a LOT of dancing, the children heard and looked at books about her, and engaged in several other activities in the classroom that involved images of dancers.  They had opportunities to think about posing and moving their own bodies and creating these poses with small wooden figures. Then they created beautiful drawings and paintings to reflect moving dancers!

Misty Copeland talks about how much joy she feels when she is dancing.  I think the Rivers Children would agree!

Enjoy some moments from our week!