PHOTOS: Misty Copeland Takes a Bow at the ABT Fall Gala

Nicole Ari Parker and Misty Copeland. Jason Lowrie/BFA.com

Any gala hosted by American Ballet Theatre is bound to be wonderful, but the company’s 85th anniversary fete dedicated to the iconic principal dancer Misty Copeland was an especially splendid—and meaningful—affair. Fresh off a five-year hiatus, Copeland took the stage of David H. Koch Theater for one final performance, a capstone to her revolutionary career. That said—balletomanes rejoice!—because her retirement from the stage will not end her involvement in ballet. Copeland intends to join the ABT board of trustees to continue championing change from behind the curtain.

On the evening of the gala, celebrities, philanthropists, dance enthusiasts and sundry socialites gathered to celebrate Copeland’s legacy as the first Black woman promoted to principal dancer in ABT’s history and her transformative global impact on dance. The evening’s chairs included philanthropist Elizabeth Segerstrom, Darren Walker (10th president of the Ford Foundation), Sarah Arison (president of MoMA’s board of trustees), Jacqueline Badger Mars (heiress to Mars Inc.) and Amy Griffin (venture capitalist and founder of G9 Ventures). Oprah Winfrey attended as honorary grand chair alongside Caroline Kennedy. Spotted among the crowd were Darren Walker, Iman, Gayle King, Amy Sherald, Jordan Roth, Marisa Tomei, Star Jones, Zac Posen and Rebecca Minkoff.

Winfrey and American dance icon Debbie Allen offered tributes to Copeland from the dais as overflow guests watched a live simulcast in nearby Alice Tully Hall. Sotheby’s auctioneer Kimberly Pirtle, glam as ever, was also on hand and raised more than $1.5 million for a new Copeland-named program. But of course, the highlight of every ABT gala is the dancing.

Oprah Winfrey, Darren Walker, Richie Jackson, Gayle King and Jordan Roth. Jason Lowrie/BFA.com

Copeland and Calvin Royal III (the company’s first Black male principal dancer) opened the program with a pas de deux from Kenneth Macmillan’s Romeo and Juliet, honoring not only Copeland’s talent but also the diversity she helped pioneer. The two were slated to perform in ABT’s full production of Romeo and Juliet in summer 2020 before COVID hit, and they would have been the first Black dancers to perform in the roles in ABT’s history. At the gala, they brought that vision to life.

The full program, partially curated by Copeland, also featured excerpts from U Don’t Know Me, choreographed by Houston Thomas and performed by ABT Studio Company; Swan Lake, choreographed after Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa and performed by Hee Seo and Cory Stearns; and Sinatra Suite, choreographed by Twyla Tharp and performed by Copeland and Herman Cornejo.

Interwoven with the dancers were videos and tributes that traced Copeland’s ballet journey from her acceptance into ABT Studio Company at age 17 to her breakout role as Odette/Odile in ABT’s 2015 production of Swan Lake and the countless standing ovations she earned along the way. “I think it’s the exact right time for me to be stepping off the stage,” Copeland told CBS Mornings after the gala. “Because I think that the impact that I can have off the stage is going to be greater than what I’ve done.”