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Style Evolution With Prince
Lesson time 5:58 min
Misty shares how working with Prince was a life-changing moment for her as an artist, and she encourages you to step out of your comfort zone as a dancer and explore different genres.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: Evolving As An Artist: Misty and Prince • Embracing Your Unique Style
Teaches Ballet Technique and Artistry
American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland teaches you how to build your technique, embrace your story, and own your movement.
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[MUSIC PLAYING] - I think that it's extremely important for you to explore every genre of dance that you can kind of expose yourself to. I think that when you limit yourself to doing just one genre, whether it's classical ballet or modern, that you don't really get to utilize all of your body and all that you may be capable of. You know, I do believe that ballet is the base like technically for every style of dance, but I've learned so much about ballet by doing contemporary. I remember me and my ballet teacher, Cynthia Bradley, driving down to downtown LA like almost every weekend. And I was taking African dance classes. I was learning how to Samba. And you know, exploring even different types of like ballroom dancing. All of those things allow you to test your body and get it to move in ways you didn't know how. And then it awakens something in you that you then-- you think differently about the ballet steps. And so I think that it will only be beneficial to learn about as much dance and art as you can. [MUSIC PLAYING] I think it's important for you to be open to learning from everything in life. And I think that's what happened when I started working with Prince, that it was not something I ever thought I would do or anticipated. I actually didn't even understand why he was reaching out. But what I learned and gained from him was beyond anything I ever imagined. I ended up performing in a music video of his. He did a remake of the song "Crimson and Clover." And then I ended up going on tour with him through France, and did some, you know, outdoor big amphitheaters and performances. And then when he did his first American tour in like a very, very long time, he kind of created it around me. It was the "Welcome to America" tour. And so we performed at Madison Square Garden and we performed at the forum in Los Angeles. He was so great about really just working around my ABT schedules. So whenever I didn't have a show, I would go to Madison Square Garden and like perform with him. And so it was really crazy, like my life at that point. But I just feel like I just grew in leaps and bounds just by being exposed to something different. You know, his audiences were not at all what I was used to. You know, we're not used to getting response-- immediate responses, you know? There's appropriate times to applaud in ballet or-- and to have, you know, people that just will scream and say whatever they want whenever they want, like that's not something I was used to. But seeing him perform on stage, it just gave me a completely different outlook on how to be a performer. And also seeing how giving and present he was with his audience, and it just really makes a difference, I think, in how they feel about your performance, that you're considering them. And it's really fascinating that to this day there are so many people that have been coming in support of American Ballet Theater or me and say, well, I learned about...
About the Instructor
As the first African American female principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland made history. Now she’s one of the world’s most influential dancers, and she’s inviting you to the barre to develop a deeper appreciation for ballet and the language of dance. From pliés to partners, Misty demonstrates her techniques and teaches you to own your movement, own who you are, and do the dance only you can do.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Misty Copeland
American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland teaches you how to build your technique, embrace your story, and own your movement.
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