Misty Copeland, the first African-American principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, has written a third book, “Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating Your Way to a Leaner, Stronger and More Graceful You,” and will be in Seattle on March 24.

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Lit Life

“I was a shy girl, unsure of my own voice, but I felt I was able to communicate with the world through ballet.”

— Misty Copeland, “Ballerina Body”

 

Author appearance

Misty Copeland

The author of “Life in Motion” and “Ballerina Body” will speak at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 24, at Meany Hall on the University of Washington campus. Tickets are $5 for admission only, $25 for admission and a signed copy of “Ballerina Body.” The event is sold out, but a limited number of standby tickets may be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Information: washington.edu/alumni/events/an-evening-with-misty-copeland/

Misty Copeland’s remarkable story is the sort you can imagine depicted by a skilled novelist; her life, in the words of a 2015 “60 Minutes” report, is “the embodiment of the American dream.” Growing up as one of six children in an often-struggling Southern California family, she lived for some time with her mother and siblings in two rooms in a highwayside motel. At the Boys & Girls Club gym one day, a teacher noticed something distinctive in the tiny, quiet 13-year-old’s movements, and suggested a ballet class.

Fast-forward to today: Copeland, now 34, has become the first African-American principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, one of the world’s most revered classical ballet companies. A dancer of rare power and musicality (and an astonishing prodigy in a profession where most preteens have already undergone years of training), she has performed leading roles on the company’s New York City stage and around the world, and looks forward to performing her first “Giselle” this spring.

And, through writing, she has shared her story: with a best-selling 2014 memoir (“Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina”), a children’s book (“Firebird”), and now a health-and-fitness book, “Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating Your Way to a Leaner, Stronger and More Graceful You.” She’ll be in Seattle on March 24, not dancing but speaking at Meany Hall about her life and work, and how she hopes to inspire young people. (The event is sold out, but standby tickets may be available.)

Though Copeland worked with writer Charisse Jones on both “Life in Motion” and “Ballerina Body,” the books stemmed from her longtime practice of keeping a journal. “That’s been a go-to for me since the age of 15,” said Copeland last month, in a telephone interview from New York. (It was late morning her time, on a Monday — and in the way of all ballerinas, she had just emerged from a two-hour daily class.)

“I was really shy, and it was hard for me to communicate with people through words,” she said, of how her writing habit began. “It was a nice way to express myself by writing things down in my journal.” Though she said she’s made less frequent entries since marrying her longtime boyfriend, attorney Olu Evans, last summer, she still turns to her journal “when there are really big things and moments that happen in my life, if I’m really struggling with something. When I’m alone on the road, I write more.”

The process of writing with Jones felt “very organic,” said Copeland, beginning with photocopies of the journals and evolving into emailing back and forth. Though both books contain elements of Copeland’s life story, they are distinctly different: “Life in Motion” is a compelling memoir of a chaotic childhood and the revelation of falling in love with dance; “Ballerina Body,” with exercises and recipes, is more of a how-to book, wrapped in an inspiring message.

“The misconception of dancers having eating disorders is something constantly brought up to me,” Copeland said, of the impetus for her new book. “I felt like it couldn’t be a better time to really give people who aren’t explicitly part of the ballet world a real, true inside view of what it feels like to be a dancer.”

In quiet rebuke to the idea of the ballerina as a fragile flower, Copeland filmed an ad for the athletic-wear company Under Armour in 2014, showcasing her powerfully muscled yet lithe body. (It now has more than 10 million YouTube views.) “Under Armour gave me a platform to showcase that dancers are athletes,” said Copeland. “There’s no way we could perform and rehearse without filling our bodies with food and taking care of ourselves, the same way any athlete would.”

In addition to practical advice about food and fitness, “Ballerina Body” goes deeper, in a chapter devoted to mentoring — obviously something deeply personal for Copeland (who, to this day, is still involved with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America). “We’re human beings, not robots — we have days when we’re down and we need that support from people we trust and respect,” she said.

In a journal entry in the book, Copeland describes how, in her early years at ABT, she learned about Raven Wilkinson, who danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in the 1950s as the company’s first African-American ballerina. “I felt an emotional attachment and connection that I didn’t know I yearned for,” she wrote. “I felt for the first time what my purpose might be in this rarefied elite white world.”

Copeland’s manager planned a meeting with the now-81-year-old Wilkinson. “We learned that she lived about two blocks from me, and she had been attending my performances since the time I joined the company,” said Copeland, her voice indicating thrilled wonderment. “We ended up doing a radio interview, and a talk about the two generations of black ballerinas. She’s still very much a part of my life, such a positive light.”

In her book, Copeland urges readers looking for inspiration to find people they admire — to approach authors at book signings, for example. For her part, she feels like “an open book” in presenting her life’s experiences to the world. When approached, she said, “I always encourage younger dancers to surround themselves with support, to believe in themselves, to feel comfortable in their own skin and try not to get caught up in society’s standards of what’s acceptable, what’s beautiful. That’s really hard in this day and age.”