Misty Copeland
Teaches Ballet Technique and Artistry
As the first African American female principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland made history. Now she’s one of the world’s most influential dancers, and she’s inviting you to the barre to develop a deeper appreciation for ballet and the language of dance. From pliés to partners, Misty demonstrates her techniques and teaches you to own your movement, own who you are, and do the dance only you can do.
Browse Lesson Plan
Meet your new instructor: American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland. Misty talks about the philosophy that’s helped her through challenges, and she shares how this class will help you gain confidence and a fresh perspective.
Misty opens up about some of the errors she’s made in past performances, explaining how she’s dealt with criticism and revealing her technical transformation to rebuild strength and increase quality of movement.
Misty discusses how she prepares her pointe shoes and which type she chooses for different performances. Then she demonstrates a warm-up at the barre and performs a solo variation from Swan Lake.
Misty introduces placement principles for proper alignment and shares a series of stationary exercises to practice pliés and tendus. These exercises will help you build strength and prepare for jumps.
To help you learn placement principles and prepare for larger moves like arabesques, Misty demonstrates a series of small movement exercises to practice temps lié and maintain stability while shifting her weight from side to side.
In an advanced demonstration, Misty shows you exercises to practice ronds de jambe. These sequences prepare you for turns and help you engage placement principles while executing elaborate choreography.
All the techniques shown so far come together in a slowed-down version of Misty’s Black Swan variation. You’ll see Misty’s proper alignment for jumps and turns.
Misty tells you why a dedication to mastering technique in the studio will help you create dynamic performances, and she motivates you to become a storyteller through movement on stage.
Browse all included classes
What's in every MasterClass subscription?
Frequently asked questions
MasterClass is the streaming platform that makes it possible for anyone to watch or listen to hundreds of video lessons taught by 85+ of the world’s best.
‍
Whether it be in business and leadership, photography, cooking, writing, acting, music, sports and more, MasterClass delivers a world class online learning experience. Video lessons are available anytime, anywhere on your smartphone, personal computer, Apple TV and FireTV streaming media players.
Membership includes access to an incredible catalog of 85+ classes taught by the world’s best on cooking, leadership, photography, writing and more.
‍
Each class includes around 20 video lessons that are 10 minutes long on average, along with an in-depth workbook. You also get access to our smartphone and TV apps, offline lessons, our member’s only newsletter, and our dynamic community of members around the world.
With MasterClass, you can learn and be inspired anytime, anywhere, including your smartphone, personal computer, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku streaming media players. You can even download your favorite lessons and watch on the plane or listen during your commute in audio-only mode.*
‍
*Downloads only on iOS and not available for all classes. Audio mode is not available for all classes.
MasterClass offers 85+ classes across a variety of categories, including business and leadership, photography, cooking, writing, acting, music, sports and more. Every class has been designed to be accessible for people with little to no experience and advanced students alike. With new classes launching regulary, you can learn practical skills, ignite new passions, and get everyday wisdom.
‍
Check out our catalog and watch a few class trailers!
The annual membership is $200 and provides unlimited access to all classes and new classes as they launch. All MasterClass memberships include access to our mobile and TV apps, high-definition videos, and downloadable class workbooks.
Our goal is to make sure that you have the best learning experience possible. If MasterClass isn’t for you, then email us within 30 days of the date you purchase your subscription, and we’ll offer a full refund.
If you don’t want to continue, you can cancel your membership renewal through your account page. Follow the prompts to cancel on the Settings page, and your membership will not renew. Please note that there aren’t refunds for partially unused membership periods.
‍
If you have more questions, please contact us. We’re happy to help!
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
