Ballet studio i started to realize that this is beautiful, and this is challenging. But she had to fight for the right to dance. Emancipation. Being in a Public School and having your story postured all over the media, not just in california, but the united states, was traumatizing. Not only did Misty Copeland face the challenge of her skin color, but her body type, featured in a national commercial. Today misty cropland wants to pave the way for children of all ballerinas. To set an example, to push as hard as i can to make it as far as i can in the ballet world so theyll have an easier pass. I spoke to the ballet theatre soloist about her life story recently, in new york. Tell me about the moment you discovered ballet. I say it discovered me, or it found me. It happened well, dance was always just a part of my natural state as a child. Its something that i whenever music played, i was dancing. It became an escape to me, that i dont think i realized was that for many years. It was a way to escape the chaos of being one of six children, so many different things. And moving a lot. And moving a lot. So many things that werent ideal as a child, and movement became that escape for me. When i was 13, i tried out for the dance team in my Public School and was told i should take a ballet class at the boys and girls club where i was a member. I think it was when i stepped into the ballet studio, the actual studio, because my first class was on a basketball court, and i dont think i grasped what ballet was, and i was extremely intimidated by it. It was when i stepped into the ballet studio that i started to realize this is beautiful, and this is challenging, and this is the, like, extreme beauty escape life. The story goes from the moment you started you were basically a prodigy. It was what you were meant to be doing. Did it feel that way . Not until i became a professional did i understand the weight of the word and the expectations whether or not you would succeed past being gifted at a young age. At the time it was fun. I was being pushed and challenged in something that i liked doing. I looked forward to learning every day and growing, and perfecting the incredible art form that i knew i was not going to perfect, but the challenge of approaching that was something i never experienced before. You said it was fun. In your book you wrote i was a nervous child. My unease coupled with a perpetual quest for perfection made my life harder than it needed to be. How so . This was definitely before dance, that i just never felt a real connection to anything or anyone. And i was constantly just trying to fit in. I didnt want to be the best at anything. I just wanted to blend in. And that was kind of my existence. Throughout my family experiences at home, of just kind of blending in in the background through, you know, my other siblings, which was easy to do, i just was always so nervous that i was going to say the wrong thing or be judged. I think i got used to kind of hiding what was happening at home, that i was embarrassed about, and it became who i was. Lets talk about your home and ballet is very organized. There are rules, right. That you wrote, and talking about your family, our family began a pattern that would define my siblings, six of you totally, packing, scrambling, leaving, often barely surviving. You touched on this a little bit. But how did that define who you are now . I think that it has given me more appreciation for the incredible world im a part of now. Its given me appreciation for how fortunate i am to be on the path that i am, to have the opportunities that i have. I think its given me a thicker skin. Life experiences to pull from at a very young age, to become an artist on the stage, i think a lot of children who grow up blist fully unaware of what happens, that once you get on stage as a professional, as a performer, its, like, where am i pulling this from, to become another person, to become a character. I think that having the experiences i did at home kind of allowed me to dig deeper. So i look at them as tools, and something that i tried to turn in to something positive. Tell me about your first bradley. Cindy i think that she was the first person that i felt believed i could do anything. I think my mother definitely thought that. She thinks that of all her children. Just in the situation you grew up in, i dont think it was something that was spoken. And cindy would say it over and over again out loud. It was the first time i started to develop an identity of my own. I started to feel that im worthy i have a voice, im good at something, and she never made me feel that i was different to anyone, because i was african american, because of my circumstances, because i started late. She would say you are so extremely special. That, though, led to a very turbulent time for you, whip yo when you go to live with your teacher, and theres a point where your mother is not okay with that. Talk to ma about the process you went through of suing your mother for emancipation. I was 15 years old. When i say that, 15 years old, i think i was at the maturity and mindset of an 11 year old. I was definitely a late bloomer and did not come into my own until i was probably in my 20s, and i think that dancing definitely gave me the opportunity to explore and to grow into the person that i dont think i could be without it. I would have never become this person without ballet. At that time, all i wanted to do was dance. And i was being told that well, by my mother, first hand, that she wanted me to be home. Which made complete sense. Ive given you almost three years to live with your teacher and get the training you needed, and now you need to get home. Then i was hearing from my teacher, if you leave now, you may not dance again. I dont know if thats the priority within your family situation. Your mother is a single parent, you know. Just trying to survive and keep her children off the street and in school and fed. I was kind of being pulled between two worlds. One of which was a world i started to grow accustomed to, the ballet world, and i saw my future there. And the thought of losing that was like death. It was like i would die. Wow. That was the identity that i that i became. It was the first time i had an identity and it was through being a dancer. I felt special. The thought of losing that was terrifying. So to be 15 years old, and to be so private, just by nature, and to have this emancipation that unravelled and turned into something more than i ever thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to give me an opportunity to be an adult and make the decisions to continue dancing, on my own, that i would be able to do with my teacher and i could see my family and everything would be great. Thats just not how things worked out. I think that both parties had my best interests at heart. And were trying to do what they could to do what they thought was best for me. But being in a Public School and having your story postured all over the media not just within california, but all over the united states, was traumatizing. You actually say to this day im still trying to understand mummy. Do you understand your mother adult . I have more of an understanding and appreciation. Of course, i will never know probably until im a parent, but i try every day to understand. Of course, you said the battle in my mind and spirit raged on. Was that just you trying to work through the aftermath of everything. Is that what that was . Yes. To recover emotionally psychologically and then to be thrown into a new ballet studio. The only studio i knew was someone i took my first class at and was cynthia bradley. It was intimidating. People had preconceived ideas of who i was because they saw me all over the newspapers, and it was terrifying for me to walk into a school and we judged and people looking at me as though this is a prodigy, lets see what she has. It was a lot of pressure. It was a lot of pressure and a lot to handle after going through what i went through. You are now one of the worlds famous ballet dancers, you are a soloist at the american ballet theatre. Have you commercials, books, a reality show. So many things have come after this difficult path that you had. Did you ever envision and i forgot, you danced with prince on stage forgot that one. Did you ever envision that this is what your life could be . No, no. Its hard to accept that its a reality. I dont know, again, im just so humbled and grateful for the bagged that i have and the situation that i have been through and be standing that i want to forever be able to give back to ballet what its done for me. And thats the constant battle i have within myself, in improving myself to the ballet world, and getting out the exposure that ive been getting, that its not about something as simple as someone wanting to be famous. I never wanted that. I want the ballet world to be given the respect that it deserves, and to be seen by more people. For so many to experience the beauty that i received from the ballet world. With every opportunity, and every incredible thing that happens, its just a shock. Overwhelming. Its overwhelming. And i never step outside of myself and think its me, thats a proud moment, thats the girl i mentored. Thats ballet. It makes me so proud to be a part of it. Thats a constant refrain in your book, for the brown girls, for the little brown girls that are constant. Its clear that that is what motivated you, and thats what drives you. I am sure theres little brown girls that meet you that probably get emotional when they see you. I cant imagine the pressure i would imagine. It has got to be kind of an hon you are, is it . I dont people any pressure from that at all. Its the same way i look at Raven Wilkinson and how emotional i got the first time i spoke to her, hear her story, being the first africanamerican to dance in a ballet company, to experience what she went through. I saw myself in her, and i know that thats what they are seeing in me. And it pushes me to get going, setting an example to push as hard as i can as far as i can so they will have an easier past. Youre watching talk to al jazeera. Stay with us as i speak to Misty Copeland about race and body image in the world of ballet. I work really hard and i see myself having more of a future in classical dance, and not just doing contemporary dance, and thats what i started to see a change in my career, but people needs to understand that thats what im constantly saying, the kids that im mentoring, just because youre saying it doesnt mean that people hear it. You have to say it. At a very young age especially with dancers, its ingrained in us, the format how classical ballet works, youre forever a student, which we are, but youre in the classroom, and you dont speak, you just receive information from the front of the room. Youre not asked for your opinion, so you kind of get used to not having a voice, and you can get lost in that. You do still take class . Oh, yeah, you have to. As a professional, that never ends. Its not like its how we warm up every day, and its also how we finetune our instrument. So its the same way instrumenting, i dont know what you call it when you finetune it. It keeps us in tip to form and shape. Youre watching talk to aljazeera. Youre watching talk to aljazeera. Im richelle carey, and our guest this week, someone who has taken the ballet world by storm. Misty copeland. So i know that one of your goals was to be the first black principle dancer at the american ballet theater. Is that your goal . I think every dancers goal is to you know, when we become dancers, we see those roles, and we dream of dancing these iconic roles. But of course thats my goal but i dont want it to overshadow what actually happens. Because im so happy with the way things are. And the roles that im dancing and every time i get the opportunity to dance them. But its not just a quick fight to get to this position. But its about the journey and learning and becoming the artist that im becoming. So that if and when that happens, i will be completely ready, and comfortable to accept that role. I think that youre breaking down stereotypes in a way that people dont realize. And what youre doing on the stage is chipping away at that every day. I hope so. Thats the incredible thing about this art form, we have the opportunity to morph into these other characters and show that theyre so much deeper than the labels and how people perceive the way they think we are. And what were capable. And its amazing to get an opportunity to prove them wrong. It has been an honor. Thank you. You have to taste chocolate all day long. How one mans passion. You take a piece of chocolate and you break it and you listen. Led to a lifelong obsession. I owe my life to chocolate. And a dark warning. The world will run out of chocolate by 2020. I lived that character. We will be able to see change. This is Aljazeera America live from new york city. Im tony harris. Delaying the euro. Giving until sunday to stop the spiraling greek debt crisis. 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