Misty Copeland broke ballet’s color barrier. These songs carried her through

By Sophie BearmanPublished Sep. 30, 2025 • 6:00am

On The Standard’s music podcast Life in Seven Songs, we ask some of the world’s most fascinating people: What songs tell the story of your life?

After 25 years with American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland will take her final bow Oct. 22. But before the curtain falls, the pioneering dancer — who broke barriers as the first Black female principal in the company’s 84-year history — joined The Standard’s podcast “Life in Seven Songs” to tell her story through the music she loves.

“We were in and out of motels for all of my childhood, sleeping on people’s couches that we didn’t know. And there was abuse in the household for some of that,” Copeland recalls. “It made me extremely introverted. I was so ashamed that I didn’t want anyone to get close to me. And music was like this saving grace.”

Raised in Southern California, Copeland was a shy, soft-spoken girl nicknamed “Mouse.” She found dance at 13 — a late start by ballet standards — but her raw talent and fierce discipline would carry her to some of the world’s most prestigious stages.

Now Copeland, 43, is preparing for a “farewell” — not a retirement. “I hate that word,” she says. “It’s literally a thank you to all the people who have supported me on my journey at ABT.”

On “Life in Seven Songs,” she opens up about the obstacles she faced and the art that sustained her: dancing through six stress fractures (at once), finding love at a nightclub, being the only brown body in a sea of white dancers, and the music that carried her through it all. From Mozart’s concertos to Drake’s swaggering hits, her playlist tells a story of survival, ambition, and grace.

“I’ll probably be listening to [Drake’s] ‘Nice for What’ before I go on,” she says with a laugh. After all, that’s her go-to hype song.

Here’s her playlist.