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a Ceremonial Resolution
21-93
In the Council of the District of Columbia
July 14, 2015
To recognize Misty Copeland for becoming the first African-American female principal dancer in American Ballet Theatre, one of the 3 leading classical ballet companies in the United States.
WHEREAS, Misty Copeland was born on September 10, 1982 in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in the San Pedro community of Los Angeles, California;
WHEREAS, Misty Copeland began her ballet studies at the San Pedro City Ballet and is considered a prodigy who rose to stardom despite not beginning her ballet career until the age of 13 years;
WHEREAS, Misty Copeland won first place in the Music Center Spotlight Awards at 1 years of age;
WHEREAS, Misty Copeland studied at the San Francisco Ballet School and the American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive on full scholarship and declared American Ballet Theatre’s National Coca-Cola Scholar in 2000;
WHEREAS, Misty Copeland joined American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company in September 2000, then joined American Ballet Theatre (“ABT”) as a member of the corps de ballet in April 2001 and was appointed a Soloist in August 2007;
WHEREAS, in 2014, President Obama appointed Copeland to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition;
WHEREAS, on November 12, 2014, The Washington Ballet announced Misty Copeland’s American debut in Swan Lake on April 9, 2015 at the Eisenhower Theater in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts;
WHEREAS, on June 30, 2015, Misty Copeland became the first African-American female principal dancer in ABT’s 75-year history; and
WHEREAS, in the past year, Copeland has appeared on the cover of Time magazine as one of the most influential figures of 2015, written both a children's book, "Firebird," and a best-selling memoir, "Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina," which has been optioned for a movie, and was the subject of a documentary at this year's Tribeca Film Festival;
IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, that the Council of the District of Columbia hereby honors Ms. Misty Copeland for serving as a role model for aspiring young African-American female dancers and her contribution to the art of classical ballet.
Sec. 2. This resolution may be cited as the “Misty Copeland Recognition Resolution of 2015”.
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of publication in the District of Columbia Register.
