*Misty Copeland fans get a one-two punch on TV this week.
Last Sunday’s “60 Minutes” segment on the famed ballerina is followed tonight [May 15] with her appearance in the PBS American Masters special, “American Ballet Theatre: A History.”
Beautifully shot by cinematographer Buddy Squires of Steeplechase Films, the Ric Burns documentary details the lineage of New York’s prestigious “American Ballet Theatre” – from its origins in 1937 with founder Lucia Chase, through its growth and signing of world-renowned dancers, to its current status as the nation’s premiere ballet company.
Copeland, in 2007, became just the third African American female soloist in company history, arriving some 20 years after the second.
“I think that I wasn’t completely prepared to experience being the only African American woman in the company for a decade,” Copeland told the TCA in January. “I don’t think that I was completely aware of how few there are in top companies within the ballet world. So, if anything, that was probably the biggest shock for me. But it would have been that way in any company that I would have joined.”
But it was joining ABT that became an obsession for Copeland, once she saw the company perform Don Quixote at the Segerstrom Center in Orange County, Calif:
Following tonight’s premiere, the full film will be available to stream on the “American Masters” website and through PBS channels on OTT providers beginning May 16. The film will be available on DVD July 14.
Watch the trailer below:
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