REVIEW: LIFE IN MOTION: AN UNLIKELY BALLERINA by Misty Copeland

When Misty Copeland first placed her hands on the barre at an after-school community center, no one expected the undersized, anxious thirteen-year-old in baggy gym shorts to become one of America’s greatest classical ballerinas. But she did just that. In Life in Motion, Misty describes how she overcame incredible adversity to make history and achieve her dreams of becoming a leading ballerina in the world-class American Ballet Theatre.

From her childhood spent moving around to escape her mother’s string of boyfriends and husbands to pressures to mold her body to a dancer’s ideal, every challenge Misty faced was met with the same perseverance, passion, and drive that brought her dreams to life. A true prodigy, Misty was dancing en pointe within two months and performing professionally in just over a year: a feat unheard of for any classical dancer. Recognizing her talents, Misty’s white ballet teachers soon took her in so she could continue training at a high level. Caught between the calm, control, and comfort she found in the world of elite ballet and the harsh realities of her own life, Misty became involved in a highly publicized custody battle instigated by her mother to bring her home—a struggle which Misty talks about in detail for the first time. She also reveals how it felt to be the only black woman in the American Ballet Theatre’s corps de ballet as she spanned the globe in world-renowned performances.

As unique as Misty herself, Life in Motion transcends the bounds of the traditional ballet biography to tell a uniquely American story of perseverance and achievement in the face of extreme challenges. This is a beautiful memoir of identity, of passion, and of grace for anyone who has dared to dream of a different life.