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Five, Six, Seven, Eight. All nine of the dancers in the room are dressed head to toe in Under Armor dance attire. The dance instructor is counting and we are all dripping in sweat as we work tirelessly to make our piece ready to perform. The nerves are starting to kick in, our performance is just around the corner and it must be flawless. I hope I don’t forget anything. 2012 was my first year on the competition company and I was working harder than ever. My love for dance was at what seemed to be the highest point but little did I know how much more I could love dance. As dancers, we are constantly searching for new people to inspire us. We strive to further our goals to become better dancers than we are today. Then, the day came that a dancer in our time made history. Misty Copeland became the first African American Female Principal Dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. She had made history. She made all dancers feel as if anything and everything was possible.
Misty Copeland started dancing at the age of thirteen, which is extremely late compared to most dancers today. She studied at multiple ballet schools on full scholarships and was soon noticed for her talent. Over a short period Misty had done multiple promotional ads and is most known for her under armor ad. Misty did something no one else has achieved and was now rocking her favorite clothesline. Soon after Misty endorsed Under Armor, every dancer had to possess multiple items of the latest under armor with hopes of making history as Misty had just recently done.
Misty Copeland’s commercials showed the extremity of her physique and just how hard-core she truly was. It showed her in a whole new light. From a leotard and a tutu to briefs and a bra, you could see every drop of sweat she risked to get to where she was now. You could see the love for dance through the energy in her eyes and the fire in her belly that burned to become successful. Most people strive to feel that way about something and that is what the commercial for Under Armor showed us. She became an icon to every dancer that knew what she had accomplished.
I wanted to break history and wanted for people to know whom I was. I was more inspired than ever and the passion slowly started to show through my dancing. I started working out over two hours a day and danced about five hours each day completely clothed in Under Armor reminding myself why I was doing what I did. I worked with a group of dancers who all strived for the same things as I did. We all knew how painful the process was but loved the process and each other more and more every single day. We would catch each other hanging out and obsessing over Misty Copeland and her newest achievements. It probably became a weird how obsessive we became. Yet, as our training went on we became closer and closer. The team had already been close but it had come to a new level. We all understood each other on a whole new level. My love for dance grew as my love for my team grew as well.
For once in my life I felt accepted and understood. God knows parents never understand the reasons we do things or our thought process. Yet alone, the obsession for misty in the under armor commercial they would never be able to understand. Our dance teacher understood though. She couldn’t of been more proud. She trained us with all her blood, sweat and tears. She was our true inspiration but we didn’t see that until after misty.
That dance season we did better than we had ever done before. We had become national dance champions and it was all because of Misty Copeland. We all experienced dance with a new and refreshing energy and the dance judges could see the fire and passion in our eyes. We were at a whole new level and we couldn’t be more proud. As young adults we were so impressionable. Misty Copeland took advantage of that and created us in to whole new people and dancers. With just one commercial our whole world turned around. All it took was one person to inspire us and show us that everything is possible with hard work and discipline. My love and passion for dance grows day by day and I have so many wonderful people to thank for that.