How difficult it is to exist, that we are athlete and artist. We have injuries. People don't see the hard side of being a ballerina. They just see this beautiful and effortless thing, and they assume it's easy and cute. I hate when people say it's cute!

Misty Copeland

Categorized in : Beautiful Cute Hate

Success is not easy and I think everyone should know that hard work and perseverance and being open to giving back are so much more powerful than stepping all over people to get to the top.

Misty Copeland

perseverance hard-work powerful

You can do anything you want, even if you are being told negative things.stay strong and find motivation.

Misty Copeland

stay-strong ballet motivation

The best piece of advice that I remember probably on a daily basis is to accept everything about me that is different. That is what makes me special.

Misty Copeland

different special advice

You can dream big and it doesn't matter what you look like, where you come from.

Misty Copeland

where-you-come matter dream

My body is very different from most of the dancers I dance with. My hair is different than most I dance with. But I didn't let that stop me. Black girls rock and can be ballerinas.

Misty Copeland

rocks girl hair

The path to your success is not as fixed and inflexible as you think.

Misty Copeland

fixed path thinking

I think most people don't really understand all that it takes to stand on your toes, and to be able to jump and land without any noise, or for a male dancer to be able to lift a girl. All of these things look so effortless, but there's an attention to detail and years of training, as well as being able to transform into a character and being able to meld all of those things together.

Misty Copeland

girl character thinking

You're always working to improve, and you're always being critiqued on your next performance. It's not about what you've done. There's always room to grow.

Misty Copeland

next done rooms

Some people even think that I'm still just not right for it [ballet]. And I think it's shocking because they hear those words from critics saying I'm too bulky, I'm too busty. And then they meet me in person and they're like, you look like a ballerina. And I think it's just something maybe that I will never escape from, those people who are narrow-minded. But my mission, my voice, my story, my message, is not for them. And I think it's more important to think of the people that I am influencing and helping to see a broader picture of what beauty is.

Misty Copeland

voice people thinking

Those people that don't see the power in art maybe have never been a part of an art, in a real way. To experience it, and to see and witness how it affects people, we're not doing it just to create professionals. It's to add another dimension to the way that children think and the way they experience certain things. If you didn't have dance, music and singing, it just seems so odd to me.

Misty Copeland

real children art

I just try to approach every opportunity on stage, as if it's my first time and my last time.

Misty Copeland

lasts opportunity trying

I feel like I represent every young dancer, and even non-dancer, who felt they were not accepted by the ballet world. I'd like to think that they can see themselves in me.

Misty Copeland

dancer ballet thinking

I will push myself in different ventures that I believe will make me a better artist, dancer and person.

Misty Copeland

dancer artist believe

Different mentors throughout my life have supported and guided me to remember that I do have the strength, courage and talent to do whatever I want to do.

Misty Copeland

mentor different want

Ballet found me. I was discovered by a teacher in middle school. I always danced, my whole life. I never had any training, never was exposed to seeing dance, but I always had something inside of me.

Misty Copeland

ballet teacher school

I know I will never let myself be complacent in life.

Misty Copeland

complacent knows

I haven’t come from the typical path or background of someone who would make it to this level as a ballerina. When it came to my childhood-growing up in a single-parent home, often struggling financially-my mother definitely instilled in me and my siblings this strength, this will, to just continue to survive and succeed.

Misty Copeland

sibling growing-up mother

There are muscles that we have in our feet that most human beings don't even know that we have. The strength that we have is so detailed.

Misty Copeland

muscles humans feet

Take advantage of the resources around you and the relationships you build!

Misty Copeland

resources advantage

I think that training is the key, definitely, and I devoted my life to it.

Misty Copeland

training keys thinking