The Humble Little Ballerina

As I write these words, I am watching a television interview with Miss Misty Copeland; the thirty-some year old ballet star. In the past couple of months, this young lady has been near the forefront of sports and public broadcasting media coverage.

Misty has recently been promoted to Principal Dancer in the American Ballet Theater; one of three leading ballet production companies. She has written two books, and is acclaimed as one of the best and brightest dancers of our time. And if that weren’t enough,

…she’s black.

And I only add that last sentence due to the fact that being black and being in ballet, at least at the upper echelons of ballet, generally doesn’t mix all that well. Misty is one of only a handful of African-American dancers to reach such stratospheric heights, and the latest to step forward in several decades.

This young lady has experienced numerous challenges during her climb towards ballet stardom, including the age-old stereotypical perspectives which accompany any person of color in their pursuit of professional excellence. She has been met with statements such as,

“Black folks just don’t belong in ballet” and “Her skin color clashes with her white co-star” and “Her (well-endowed) upper body just doesn’t fit the image we’re looking for.”

Though it all, Misty has persisted, and that is to her credit.

But what has impressed me, for I have watched a couple of her interviews, is not so much her pursuit of excellence, as her attitude. In the most recent of the two “Q and A’s,” her interviewer was another black woman. And as the result of a question concerning her rise to fame, and notoriety, the ballet star became emotional, and she continually wiped tears from her eyes.

“I just feel so grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given. So inestimably grateful! It’s not about me. It’s not about my success. My goal is to give back to ballet, and to increase its popularity in this country.”

(What a class act this dear girl is)!

My own personal interest in this artistic genre has increased in recent years, after learning that a distant cousin, a Native American from Oklahoma, Rosella Hightower, experienced significant ballet fame in the early to mid-20^th century. While Rosella was a member of a minority group, it seems apparent she and several other Native American ballet stars mostly avoided the issues with which Misty Copeland has been all too familiar. I like to think, (though I cannot be sure) that my cousin Rosella exhibited a similar demeanor as our young Misty does today.

Humbleness is, and always will be, my favorite of all traits, and the one mindset and behavior to which I most aspire.

It has been said that if you claim to be humble,

…you’re probably not.

(So I will avoid making such a claim).

However, should any of my descendants be reading these lines a hundred years hence, be it known henceforth and forevermore, (if anyone really cares) that nothing ever impacted my life more than the witnessing and emulating the trait of humbleness which I have observed in a small group of famous and not so famous, known and not so well known, men and women; some whom I had the good fortune to meet, and some whom I never did.

And having heard her words, and having witnessed the humble demeanor of this selfless young performing artist, of whom I previously alluded,

…I think I just added another member to the group.

By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "Concepts, Teachings, Practicalities & Stories". Copyright 2010

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