Misty Copeland: Daily Routine

Between rehearsals, motherhood, and running her foundation, Misty keeps her energy up with handfuls of nuts stashed in every bag.

Misty Copeland knew she wanted to be a professional dancer at the age of 13. Which, in the field of ballet dancing, is quite late as most ballerinas start serious training at under 10 years old. But Copeland didn’t let that stop her. As soon as she finished her first class at the Boys & Girls Club, she knew she wanted to dance for American Ballet Theatre (ABT).

“I was given an opportunity by my teacher, Cynthia Bradley, with the intent of training to become a professional,” Copeland recalled in an interview with Harvard Business Review. “Her attitude was: ‘You have the potential, and I’m going to invest in you because I think you can make the ballet a career’.”

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Copeland had a tumultuous childhood. As the youngest of four children from her mother’s second marriage, she also had two younger half-siblings, one each from her mother’s third and fourth marriages.