'It's as if I've been reborn': Misty Copeland begins a next chapter in 'a new body'

'It's as if I've been reborn': Misty Copeland begins a next chapter in 'a new body'

Tonya Mosley

November 05, 2025 / 10:35 am

It's not easy watching your body change over the years, but professional ballerina Misty Copeland says: "I love a challenge."

"It's a beautiful thing, to be able to see your body change, to acknowledge that it's changed and that it is different, and that you value movement in a different way," Copeland explains. Practicing classical ballet technique after having her son in 2022, she says: "It's as if I've been reborn and I have a new body to try it through."

Copeland took her final bow with American Ballet Theatre in October, after spending years away from performance.

In 2015, Copeland made history as the first Black woman to become a principal dancer