Misty Copeland Quotes

The higher you go up in rank, usually the longer you can dance.

I try my best to really think about things before I react and respond.

I know that most of the time I have to work overtime to do everything that I want to.

I try to consider people's perspectives and not just my own.

Once I became a professional, maybe 19 or 20, I really started to try to figure out who I was, as a woman and as an individual.

Ballet is number one, everything else is scheduled in the small windows when I'm not in the studio taking class, rehearsing, on stage or on tour.

In a ballet company, you're trying to create unison and uniform when you're in a cour de ballet.

Without my mentors there is no Misty.

I don't feel like my life is that of a superstar! Every day I wake up, I take the train, I go to my ballet class. My everyday life is pretty normal.

It takes a lot of money to be a part of the ballet world. Both the training and the supplies are expensive, the shoes, the leotards and the tights.

I think I'm pretty laid back. I like cooking, being at home, and going to concerts. And I love to shop!

Ballet was exactly what I was searching for, but my environment definitely made me the dancer and the person that I am today. And the Hip-Hop culture was a big part of it.

I want to share the ballet world with everyone.

Physical fears change and shift depending on the role and depending on the mindset I'm in.

I definitely like to be natural and more relaxed and not wear a lot of makeup.

I was 17 when I moved to NYC . I'm now 32. But I do know I can't see myself living anywhere else. I love the food, the fashion, art, the intelligence of this city and the people that live in it.

I believe I am yet to dance my favorite role, but I am pretty open to adapting to different characters. I would love to be Odette in Swan Lake one day. I think that would be the ultimate role.

I was aware of my race from a very young age. Not in a negative way. Coming from an interracial background, I think it is important to understand who you are.

I absolutely love what I do, and I want to dance for as long as I can and feel good about what I am putting out there on the stage.

I will never reach perfection.

I will never be the best dancer or artist. I will be growing until the day I retire.

I wake up every morning, and I go to ballet class no matter what's going on the night before. That's my priority, and that's what makes me feel sane and not removed from the realities of my world.

I had always been proud of my body - its strength and grace enabled me to pursue my passions.

I think, as a child, there weren't dreams. I can't recall as a child having some ultimate dream and thinking that it was possible.

There are hundreds of stories I've heard from black women from my generation, generations before me, and the next, that have never been given an opportunity to fulfill their dreams.

Before dance came into my life, I don't really remember having any major goals or dreams of wanting to be anything.

Decide what you want. Declare it to the world. See yourself winning. And remember that if you are persistent as well as patient, you can get whatever you seek.

[He] said don't let them take you over. Walk into the room knowing you are the best. Shoulders back, chin up. Their attitudes will totally change.