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Misty Copeland is 'not scared' to face a career beyond dance

Jacqueline Schneider
BBC Misty Copeland talks to Katty Kay on the BBC's Influential series (Credit: BBC)BBC
Misty Copeland talks to Katty Kay on the BBC's Influential series (Credit: BBC)

The ballet legend tells the BBC's Katty Kay she hasn't been on a stage in three years – and now, after listening to her body, she's evolving her professional aspirations accordingly.

As Misty Copeland sits onstage at New York City's famed Lincoln Center, she says she hasn't danced under the lights in years – and she's not sure when she will again.

In a candid conversation with Katty Kay for her interview series Influential, in which icons including Hugh Bonneville and Ina Garten have opened up to the BBC's special correspondent, Copeland reflects on an iconic career. Aged 41, she has already danced professionally for 27 years – now, she's ready to talk about what comes next.

Where to find Influential with Katty Kay

  • Watch it live on Thursdays at 22:30 ET on the BBC News channel
  • Stream the full episode on YouTube
  • Listen to the interview on Apple PodcastsSpotify and Castbox
  • Named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2015, the same year she made history as the first black woman promoted to principal dancer at the prestigious American Ballet Theatre, Copeland says she's entering a new era. 

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