The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee welcomed Misty Copeland to Milwaukee on Monday, October 12th as part of their Presidents Society Gathering at Pfister Hotel and to help launch the MarVan Sports & Arts Program. The program aims to support youth experiencing challenges similar to those Copeland once faced by providing greater “access to sports, arts and cultural experiences that help Milwaukee youth discover their passions, build confidence, and realize their potential.”
The event shined a light on Misty Copeland’s powerful experiences as a member of the club, the generous supporters of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and an opportunity for young Milwaukeeans to meet and chat with the ballerina herself.
“Long before ballet, the Boys & Girls Club gave me a place to belong,” said Copeland. “It was truly the first home I had where people knew me and my name, I felt free to be myself.”
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Unlikely journeys often begin thanks to someone with vision. Someone who sees beyond, pointing encouragingly down the road less traveled. For Misty Copeland, it was Cindy Bradley who saw something no one else was able to see: a life in ballet.
Bradley encouraged Copeland to join a ballet club at the San Pedro, California Boys & Girls Club. A self-professed “pool shark” who had no previous interest in ballet, Copeland decided to give it a chance and according to Cindy Bradley, Misty was a prodigy. Thanks to Cindy Bradley and the opportunities available with The Boys & Girls Club, Copeland stuck with ballet. Despite an unstable young life that included bouts of home, food and financial insecurity, Copeland was able to build her budding ballet curiosity into a passion, a career and a life. In 2001, at age 15, Copeland became the first Black woman to be promoted to principal dancer in ABT’s 75-year history.
Following an extended ovation, Misty Copeland took the stage and told her origin story: “when I was 13, at probably the lowest point in our family life. We were living in a one room hotel, I was sleeping on the floor; ballet was the farthest thing away from anything I’d ever thought of. My family didn’t have the resources to join a ballet club. What I had was a club that had a relationship with a teacher [Cindy Bradley] and brought an opportunity to where I already felt at home. That is what meeting children where they are looks like.”
Copeland later took questions from the crowd, featuring several young Milwaukeeans from our Boys & Girls Club. One of her answers reminded me of a pivotal scene in the children’s book “The Castle in the Attic”: the character’s final mission to stand in the mirror to see their true selves. While the knights crumble at the site of themselves, the child sees only himself, as he is.
Yes, we need to be able to see ourselves, but as Misty Copeland revealed to the crowd, we also need our Cindy, someone to believe in us. We all need a place that feels like home, a place like the Boys & Girls Club that is willing to meet us not only where we are, but help us get to where we’re going.
