A groundbreaking ballerina is bringing her inspirational story to Brooklyn’s legendary Billie Holiday Theatre on Monday.
The Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corp. and Greenlight Bookstore tapped Misty Copeland, renowned for being the only African-American soloist at the American Ballet Theatre, to speak about her remarkable career with members of the Restoration Youth Arts Academy in an event that’s open to public.
“Misty has come from a very challenging background,” said Indira Etwaroo, the newly appointed executive director of the Center for Arts and Culture at Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corp. ” . . . She’s an iconic symbol of someone who has figured out, and has done a fairly brilliant job of taking life’s challenges and turning them into something beautiful.”
Monday’s event will serve as an introduction, of sorts, for Etwaroo, 43, who earned a PhD in Dance and Cultural Studies from Temple University and served as executive producer and director of NPR Presents before she arrived in Brooklyn last week.
Copeland, 32, who is only the third black soloist ever, and first in two decades at the prestigious dance company, released an autobiography, “Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina,” last spring.
Restoration’s Youth Arts Academy has worked to nurture interest in dancing among youngsters across a spectrum of genres, Etwaroo said.
“We’re providing spaces not for only the communities to come together to see great performance and to see great conversations, but also for artists to use spaces for art-making,” she added. “The response has been really exciting. The hub and the growth happening in Brooklyn right now, it’s an unprecedented time.”
Copeland starred in American Ballet Theatre’s production of “The Nutcracker” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music last month, and noted the borough’s rising stature on the city’s arts landcape.
“The arts are too often low priority on the agendas of organizations so I’m honored to have the support of Bed-Stuy Restoration,” said Copeland. “Especially because the arts are an important part of what they stand for. It’s going to be a great discussion, one which I look forward to very much.”
Copeland’s talk is set for Monday at 7 p.m., Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corp., 1368 Fulton St. in Brooklyn. Advance tickets are available at www.greenlightbookstore.com/COPELAND.
