Misty Copeland Picks the Top 3 Ballets Everyone Should See

April 13, 2017

I can’t say I’d ever heard of Smithsonian magazine before a few days ago, but let me tell you now, guys: I am SO GLAD they exist. Because their latest issue brings us tons of wisdom straight from the mouth of one Misty Copeland—you might have heard of her?

For the April issue, Kween Copeland gifted Smithsonian‘s staff reporter Katie Nodjimbadem a number of priceless quotes. My personal favorite? Her answer to the question, ‘What are three ballets everyone should see?’

“Oh wow. That’s hard. One very close to my heart, like it’s something I did very early on in my career at ABT and it’s still one of my favorites from the choreography standpoint and the music standpoint, is ‘Petite Mort,’ which is contemporary work. Being in American Ballet Theater, we do full-length ballets. That’s the bulk of our rep. Maybe ‘Giselle.’ Again, the whole thing from the music to the choreography to the costume to everything is done so incredibly well. Maybe a Forsythe ballet. I’m a huge fan of William Forsythe‘s work. I don’t know, [maybe] ‘workwithinwork.'”

Copeland was just dancing ‘Giselle’ the other week on tour with American Ballet Theater! Here’s a backstage peek of her rehearsing the title role:

I’m so excited for my debut tomorrow with @albanlendorf #ABTGiselle @roh_muscat ✨@abtofficial 📸@sarahlane #Oman

A post shared by Misty Copeland (@mistyonpointe) on Apr 5, 2017 at 10:49pm PDT