Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina

My granddaughter was excited to receive this & couple of other books pertaining to Misty Copeland.

I've always loved Classical Ballet; I feel it's the most beautiful form of dance there is. It's something my wife and I share. When I met I her she had a Mikhail Baryshnikov calendar on her wall. She danced when she was very young. She introduced me to Ballet and Artistic Gymnastics, both she had done in her youth. Sadly ended by injury. We both love to watch "So you think you can dance." as it brings some fantastic dancers to the stage and some of the wildest choreography I have ever seen. It brought us "Twitch"! This last season we were watching as usual and I noticed a guest judge I had never seen before and I asked my wife who it was. She asked me, "You don't know who that is?" I had no idea other that she looked very serious. She said "That's Misty Copeland; one of the best ballerina's there is anywhere." I shrugged my shoulders, "OK." Her critiques were so precise and on point; every toe point; every movement; every emotion. I was like, "This dancer knows her business." I was impressed and I believe she was on for two episodes. My wife still was asking me how could you not know who she is? One thing I did know; she knows her business. The above notes don't relate directly with her book but will. I'm married to a Latina and she told me that she wasn't always welcomed in allot of circles due to her not being white. Being white, I didn't fully get it because I wasn't raised that way. The statement "This is for the brown girls." should and probably relates to all women or men of color. Reading that made me sad but it should make every decent person sad. Her story was a great read. It was one of a young prodigy being pushed and pulled in so many directions at a young age that tore at her feelings so drastically that it it was painful to read in some places. So many families have to endure hardships and many talented people whether it's dance, acting, other sports or academia are kept from them because there is no one there to see the talent. Those are the ones who suffer. I'm glad the Boys and Girls club was there for her and she was discovered; what a waste it would have been to have never seen such talent. Thanks Misty for giving back to those who helped get you started. The book is very open and raw; she doesn't hold back on any of her life story. It's happy in many places and heartbreaking in others. It's a journey of a budding artist who tells her story almost from when she can remember to this year. She gives those in her life who helped her more than just credit; she showers them with praise. She admits to the reader her fears and how she overcame them (I love Krispy Kreme too). For so many to take to her, shows a spirit not found in many people no matter what race they are. In the end her family is her biggest love and that crowns the book for me. I hope my wife and I can see her dance live one day; that would be a truly wonderful experience. That recalls the dance of Firebird with stress fractures. Most athletes would be sidelined with that. It boggles the mind how she did that.I'll check out Firebird when I get a chance. Thanks for a great experience.

I should have borrowed this from the library, not bought it.Misty is an interesting woman & artist, to a point. She was undeniably a prodigy. Being a prodigy, however, does not guarantee you will become brilliant in your field.After reading this memoir & watching all the Youtube videos I could find on Misty, I think she's a prodigy who hit a plateau. There's nothing wrong with that. She's a soloist at a world class company, and deserves to be. The plateau is that she doesn't seem to be principal material. From the performances I've seen, she lacks variety in her dance.When she performs a role that is well-suited to her, she is amazing. But those roles are few and far between. She doesn't seem to have the depth of emotion and range of dance to be a principal.That lack of depth is evident in her memoir. It is extremely repetitive. She was a prodigy (she tells us over and over). She was tiny (again, over and over). Whenever she has done well, she repeats in print all of the compliments and accolades she received, as if she must prove something. Whenever she has not done well, she tells us, it has been either due to injury or racism.She doesn't have many notes. Not as a person telling her memoir, or as a dancer. The notes she does have are strong and bright (her performance in Firebird; her determination as a middle schooler to master her new found talent in ballet). But those notes are also few.She doesn't have the range, as a person, to present a really compelling memoir. That lack is a lack that shows through in her dance. I believe racism exists in the ballet world. I don't believe it has hindered Mindy in becoming a principal. I think she's peaked.As an aside, it's evident that she is oddly, nearly neurotically self-absorbed, in the way she phrases certain sections of her book. For example, she can't describe the tremendous success of Paloma Herrera (whom she considers a friend), without describing Paloma's success in terms of her own:"Paloma Herrera was one of the youngest stars in the history of ABT...she was fifteen when she joined its corps de ballet, seventeen when she was promoted soloist, and nineteen when she became a principal dancer...I was desperate to follow Paloma's path...Of course, that made no sense. I had come to ballet too late to be a soloist or principal before I exited my teens. What Paloma had done was rare even for a ballerina like her, those who had danced their entire lives."Those words seem to devalue Paloma's achievement, that "even rare for a ballerina like her." Considering Misty was 30 or so when she wrote those words (and had had plenty of time by then to "catch up" and prove herself equally as talented as Paloma), it is an odd way to describe a fellow dancer and friend who is clearly one of the brilliant lights in ballet. Why not just describe Paloma like that, as brilliant and bright, without qualifying her achievement by emphasizing that Paloma had danced since a little girl, whereas she herself (Misty) had only started dance when she was 13?Another example is when Misty speaks of the black ballerina Raven Wilkinson who received Klu Klux Klan threats when she performed in the south in the 50's. Misty writes after meeting her: "But I also knew now that I was not alone as a black ballerina and had been fortunate to walk a far less treacherous path."Misty no doubt had difficulties and suffering growing up. Nothing, however, points to her having suffered treachery. She at no point was in physical danger due to being a black ballerina. In fact, her circumstances were difficult due to her family situation, but as disadvantaged ballerinas go, she had a myriad of help and blessings along her way.She does acknowledge those blessings, but the fact that she also exaggerates (e.g., describing her path as treacherous when it was far from that), and seems self-absorbed and very intense, contributes to the sense that she lacks depth of interpretation and of feeling. That lack is evident in some of her dancing. She only dances at the highest of levels when the role strikes a chord with her strengths.She seems to be a talented, solid dancer who has much to offer as a spokeswoman and role model. She has had a rich and blessed life. It'd be a shame if readers assumed some of her interpretations that she hasn't advanced because she's black are true, just because that's the way she herself feels.After reading her story and watching her performances, I don't believe that's true. I think she's advanced as far as she rightly should have (and she should be very proud of what she's achieved).UPDATE: Since writing this review I've read two other ballet memoirs. "Dancing Through It," by Jenifer Ringer, and "Dancing on Water," by Elena Tchernichova. I'd give the former 4 stars and the latter 5. What sets both books far apart from Misty's is the deep passion the authors have for ballet. Misty's memoir is about herself. Jenifer's and Elena's memoirs are about so much more: themselves, their colleagues, and most fascinatingly, their art form. Both detail the ballets they have been in (or, in the case of Elena who has spent most of her life teaching and choreographing rather than dancing, involved with) and give a plethora of insights into the meanings and nuances of the various ballets. Tchernichova in particular has an exquisite grasp on the past history and current expression of her art form. (She and Nureyev were classmates; she and Baryshnikov, who was slightly younger than she, were collaborators at ABT.)I learned more from these two books (the one focusing on Balanchine & Jerome Robbins, the other on classical ballet & it's metamorphoses through the decades, in various countries) than from numerous documentaries. Next to them, Misty's memoir is a very light read indeed, and a pretty shallow one (though the other two books are easy reads in the sense of being well-written, but they are not fluff memoirs).The other update, of course, is that Misty has been promoted to principal dancer. The upside of this is that she has drawn attention to an inherently expensive art form that could really benefit from good publicity and increased ticket sales, both of which Misty brings to the table. So kudos to her on that score.What I most wished, though, after reading Tchernichova's book is that I could have coffee with her and have her give me her analysis of Misty. Tchernikova's mind and powers of observation are a treasure trove (and, Jenifer Ringer's personality is a treasure, she comes across as a very balanced, humble, likeable person).

Misty Copeland is a very elegant, graceful and inspiring young lady. I knew nothing of her until late last year when i saw her "i will what i want" AD on Youtube. From that very moment i was mystified! I had never in my life seen a brown ballerina and Misty Copeland is a beautiful one at that. l added this book to my "Amazon Wishlist" but didn't end up buying and reading it until 1 year later. Silly me! But, to be honest i have read it at the most perfect time in my life. In the age we live in, with "celebrities" bed hopping, drug taking and sex tape making, a woman like Misty who has a genuine and brilliant talent is a dying breed. Her demeanour should be celebrated. This is the type of female our young girls should aspire to, she is respectable, sophisticated and exudes class. Her book tells all about her childhood, the poverty she lived through and her neglectful mother who had 6 children with many toxic men and how Misty and her siblings fled with her mother from these men, in midnight flits, from man to man, house to motel, because she had failed at another attempt of a "relationship". The serendipitous tale of how she discovered ballet and the lady who encouraged her talent is endearing, and the stuff of Hollywood movies, she was born to shine and be discovered! There's lots of adversity in this book, which is to be expected, but, Misty has triumphed over all of them. She has become the first black woman to be promoted to principal dancer in American Ballet Theatre's 75 year history. What an accomplishment! Reading this book has left me motivated in all many aspects of my life, i went to the gym for the first time today in 7 months because of Misty and i hope to get my health and fitness back on track after a back injury. Thank you Misty for writing such a wonderful and inspiring book. You have a new fan please don't ever change. I will be watching out for you and i hope some day i will get to watch you dance. I also can't wait to watch your documentary this year, if i knew you were crowdfunding for it i would have donated just so i could see my name on the credits and be a part of your memorable story. Unfortunately i missed my chance. Good luck Misty xxx

My ten year old was going through a bit of a dry spell after finishing the Harry Potter series. No book kept her interest. Until this one. She found the story engaging and inspiring, says she learnt new words and sentence constructions. She's been motivated to practice ballet even more than usual. An all round success really. Only trouble is that she couldn't put it down and finished it in a few days.

An honest telling of a life dedicated to a calling. Misty is first a ballerina, second an advocate of her art and underlining it all is her passion for making her culture embrace her calling. A perfect read.

Misty Copeland story is all about never giving up. Everything is possible if you keep working towards your goals and dream. Always be grateful and humble. Even if you are différent, not really what society is expecting you to .be...you can do it! This book is gathering all the lessons to live your life the fullest

Interesting read