The title reads A Ballerina’s Tale, but the story is much more than just Misty Copeland’s journey to become the first black, female principle dancer at American Ballet Theatre (ABT).
The documentary largely highlights the achievements of black women in media and entertainment and the obstacles they encountered along the way.
The film centers around Misty Copeland after she becomes a dancer at ABT at 19, and her struggles with body image, confidence and being one of the only dancers of color in the company. These topics are not shied away from in any way, with women like arts reporter Deirdre Kelly, TV producer Susan Fales Hill and former American Ballet Theatre dancer Leyla Fayyaz talking about everything frankly.
The composition of the film leaves a lot to be desired. There’s a lot of shaky camera work and some odd angles the viewer encounters while watching the film. But the inspiration and power of Copeland’s story and the stories of the women featured more than make up for lack of professional camera work.
In these less formal moments we get to she Copeland rather candidly after her first performance returning from an injury. Between all the odd shots they also capture the beauty of Copeland and Raven Wilkinson hand in hand reminiscing about the steps in Swan Lake. A close up of their hands clasped together is a testament of the progress made already from Wilkinson being the first full time black ballet dancer in a major company to the first black, female principle dancer at a world-class ballet company.
As a whole the documentary despite it’s faults shows what black women have achieved in resent years without losing the perspective that this is an ongoing battle for women of color, particularly in the ballet world. They were able to show the beauty of dance without overlooking the pain and injury endured by the performers mentally and physically. The film is worth a watch to celebrate Copeland’s achievements while also reminding us that the struggle is far from over.
The film is now playing!
