Misty Copeland promoted to principal at ABT

June 30, 2015 — American Ballet Theatre promoted Misty Copeland to principal dancer. The first Black woman to hold the rank in the company's then-seventy-five-year history. The promotion landed at a moment when Copeland had already become a household name through her writing and her commercial work. The moment matters for any dance form that puts kids at the front of class, including the drill scene. Representation at the top of an institution that historically excluded rewrites who thinks the door is open.