Well, it seems as though the good news just doesn’t stop for Misty Copeland. After making history as the first Black principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre company last week, you would think that would be the fairytale ending to her story. It’s not. She’s now taking on another first for herself this week. Copeland will take her dancing shoes to Broadway to make her Broadway debut.
According to TIME, Misty Copeland will take on the role of Ivy in the Broadway musical On The Town. Ivy is the female lead who falls in love with one of the sailors. This role was originally played by Japanese-American ballerina Sono Osato. It was an intentional creative choice to make the ballet racially diverse, so to have Copeland step into this role makes perfect sense.
Copeland will dance in the show from Aug. 25 to Sept. 6
“I was contacted by them and they actually wanted me to go in pretty quickly, and it was all just ‘Oh my gosh, this is not something I ever thought I would do,’” Copeland told TIME of the opportunity to dance the role on Broadway. “If I’m going to be part of a Broadway show, I think this is the one…
…It’s so strong and rich with the dancing, and it’s such an incredible role,” Copeland said. “Jerome Robbins was such an incredible part of ABT’s history, so it makes total sense.”
The musical On The Town is a 1944 Leonard Bernstein production. It had its roots in the Jerome Robbins ballet performed at the American Ballet Theater and features the world famous song, “New York, New York.”
Below, Copeland talks about her journey to this point on CBS This Morning stating “I’ve never really sung in front of a big crowd before.”
[…] years before ballet dancer and media darling Misty Copeland changed the face of the American Ballet Theatre when she became the company’s first African […]