A Girl Named Misty

From homeless in a motel to a principal at American Ballet Theatre, the Misty Copeland story simply stuns.

Not unlike the life of Marilyn Monroe, the struggle of Misty Copeland to overcome a childhood of poverty, paternal instability and a way-too-public fight for custody, is a testament to survival. Coming to ballet late, yet setting her sights early on joining ABT, Misty manages to use her extraordinary power of focus to overcome multiple challenges, not the least of which are a late changing body, an underdeveloped technique and a climate of racial intolerance when she finally lands in the very white world of the ballet.

A particularly powerful part of the Misty Copeland story is her need to give back; having started at the Boys and Girls Club of America, she teams with ABT to create Project Plie, an initiative to make ballet accessible to all children, regardless of race or socioeconomic status.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18143768-life-in-motion

http://www.abt.org/education/projectplie/video/