than we are in other countries. there are still ballets that are being performed in blackface in russia. you got into a bit of a spat. yes. misty laughs . yeah. i mean, i think that it s so necessary to speak up, that. ..you know, we re no longer living in these times where there s no access to seeing what they re doing at the bolshoi or the mariinsky or whatever company, the royal ballet, you go on youtube, whatever it is, and you have access to seeing all of this. so it s not like they re isolated in a place where they feel people won t be offended who s coming to see them. that s kind of their reasoning behind it. well, we re not america. we don t have the history of slavery that you do. we don t think that people will be offended because this isjust what we ve always done. and that s not the case. so many people are watching and the world. we have so much access to all of this. and i just think that it s time
that we can hold on to the tradition and some of these ballets that, of course, you know, people still want to see. but we have to continue to evolve and it has to represent more than just one type of person. that s a great way of putting it. ok, i don t want to keep you seated in check. because i have misty copeland onstage. no, no! ..and ifeel like i m wasting my opportunity here. i have something to show. 0k. so, come. i m going to show you this. oh, i m very excited. so we have to move all of the cameras over. 0k. we re going to sit here. 0k. ..and i m going to show you something. we re going to sit here if i can actually get down here, i m not, you know, an eight year old.but if we can get down there. ok, so. scenes from your life, misty copeland. oh, my gosh. and i want your reaction to them. so. oh, i love this photograph. so, this. 0h! you know this one. yes. i m sure you know all of these. this one i love. how long did it take you to get on points? erm, i think it was two mont
but as myself in my brown skin and that s who i am? like i said, it s a lot easier for a lighter skin. ..black woman i want to say in particular, woman, because it s a differentjourney for black men, to kind of blend in with the.with the company. and then that s another battle that we have to face, whether or not we want to colour our skin. you literally said, hold on, why am i putting on white make up? yeah, i mean, erm. it was a tough conversation to have and even tough to absorb, like what that really means and how it really is making me feel internally. and it s hard because it s kind of mixed in with this idea of, well, within these certain ballets, if you think of swan lake or giselle or even la bayadere and you re supposed to be otherworldly or you re supposed to be a fairy or a creature or not be alive. and so they say that
and we re bec. .. you know, it s a creative environment where, you know, it s not about. to me, it s not about what the package is, it s how you make people feel. it s the interpretation. it s how you deliver the performance, the character. and that can be done in a variety of bodies, people, wherever they come from. i mean, the characters themselves aren t real. you know, that s a big part of it, too. i mean, of course, there needs to be an evolution i think of a lot of the stories that we re telling in ballet that were created centuries ago that no longer reflect society. they don t reflect what people experience today. a lot of them are really sexist, really racist. so it s something that we re conscious of more so in america than we are in other countries. there are still ballets that are being performed in blackface in russia. you got into a bit of a spat.
and that s who i am. like i said, it s a lot easier for a lighter skin. ..black woman, i want to say in particular, woman, because it s a different journey for black men, to kind of blend in with the.with the company. and then that s another battle that we have to face, whether or not we want to colour our skin. you literally said, hold on, why am i putting on white make up? yeah, i mean, erm. it was a tough conversation to have and even tough to absorb, like what that really means and how it really is making me feel internally. and it s hard because it s kind of mixed in with this idea of, well, within these certain ballets, if you think of swan lake or giselle or even la bayadere and you re supposed to be otherworldly or you re supposed to be a fairy or a creature or not be alive. and so they say that you need to make your skin match or not shiny.