Henry Leutwyler is certainly no stranger to the art of ballet-for many years he photographed on
stage and behind the scenes at the New York City Ballet culminating in his book Ballet since
published by Steidl in two editions. Yet Misty Copeland pushes Leutwyler's vision into a new
direction: neither a strict portrait of the renowned ballerina nor a mere documentation of her
exceptional craft this is an intimate collaboration between photographer and subject that
explores the subtleties of Copeland as a performer person persona and idol. Born in Kansas
City Missouri and raised in San Pedro California Copeland's biography has all the arc of a
fairy tale: she was living in a shabby hotel room struggling with five siblings for a place to
sleep on the floor when she began ballet studies at the late age of 13. She soon proved a
prodigy: within three months of her first class she was dancing en pointe in just over a year
she was performing professionally. In 2015 she became the first African-American woman
appointed principal dancer at the prestigious American Ballet Theatre in the 75 years of its
existence. In Copeland's own words: The path to your success is not as fixed and inflexible as
you think.
