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Misty Copeland is the prima ballerina of the moment. She’s beautiful, athletic, poised, and an effervescent star on stage. She’s also the first African American to become a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. This historic honor alone put Copeland in the pantheon of ballet legends, but she also has a unique style that’s gorgeous and groundbreaking on its own.
The documentary A Ballerina’s Tale presents a close up and personal look at the famous dancer. The film follows Copeland as she soars through the American Ballet Theatre’s 2013 revival of Firebird (which you might have caught a glimpse of in PBS’s gorgeous ABT American Masters special). The role solidified the popular soloist as a major dancer to watch, but after her triumphant debut, she reveals that she’s been dancing through intense pain. As it turns out, her left shin has multiple fractures and it’s possible she won’t be able to dance again.
Well, spoiler alert: SHE DOES! After overcoming a painful road to recovery, Copeland tackles one of the biggest challenges in ballet: The “White Swan” in Swan Lake. Thanks to films like Black Swan and Billy Elliott, even laymen know that this is one of the most difficult roles for a dancer to nail.
A Ballerina’s Tale debuts on Independent Lens tonight on PBS at 10 PM, but you can catch it on Netflix right now if you can’t wait that long. For more on Independent Lens click here.
[Watch A Ballerina’s Tale on Netflix]
[Gif: copyright PBS]
