.. revealing... and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time... talk to al jazeera part of our special black history month coverage on al jazeea america childhood. >> i never felt a connection to anything or anyone. in. >> misty copeland stumbled on to talent. >> as soon as i stepped into the ballet studio i started to realise that this is beautiful, and this is challenging. >> but she had to fight for the right to dance. emancipation. >> being in a public school and having your story postured all over the media, not just in california, but the united

states, was traumatising. >> not only did misty copeland face the challenge of her skin colour, but her body type, featured in a national commercial. today misty copeland wants to pave the way for children of all ballerinas. >> to set an example, to push as hard as i can to make it as far as i can in the ballet world so they'll have an easier pass. >> i spoke to the ballet theatre soloist about her life story recently, in new york. tell me about the moment you discovered ballet. >> i say it discovered me, or it found me. it happened - well, dance was always just a part of my natural state as a child. it's something that i - whenever music played, i was dancing. it became an escape to me, that i don't think i realised was that for many years. it was a way to escape the chaos

of being one of six children, so many different things. >> and moving a lot. >> and moving a lot. so many things that weren't ideal as a child, and movement became that escape for me. when i was 13, i tried out for the dance team in my public school and was told i should take a ballet class at the boys and girls club where i was a member. i think it was when i stepped into the ballet studio, the actual studio, because my first class was on a basketball court, and i don't think i grasped what ballet was, and i was extremely intimidated by it. it was when i stepped into the ballet studio that i started to realise "this is beautiful, and this is challenging, and this is the, like, extreme beauty escape life." >> the story goes from the moment you started you were basically a prodigy. it was what you were meant to be doing.

did it feel that way? >> not until i became a professional did i understand the weight of the word and the expectations - whether or not you would succeed past being gifted at a young age. at the time it was fun. i was being pushed and challenged in something that i liked doing. i looked forward to learning every day and growing, and perfecting the incredible art form that i knew i was not going to perfect, but the challenge of approaching that was something i never experienced before. >> you said it was fun. in your book you wrote "i was a nervous child. my unease coupled with a perpetual quest for perfection made my life harder than it needed to be." how so? >> this was definitely before dance, that i just never felt a real connection to anything or anyone.

and i was constantly just trying to fit in. i didn't want to be the best at anything. i just wanted to blend in. and that was kind of my existence. throughout my family experiences at home, of just kind of blending in in the background through, you know, my other siblings, which was easy to do, i just was always so nervous that i was going to say the wrong thing or be judged. i think i got used to kind of hiding what was happening at home, that i was embarrassed about, and it became who i was. >> let's talk about your home and ballet is very organised. there are rules, right. that you wrote, and talking about your family, our family began a pattern that would define my siblings, six of you totally, packing, scrambling, leaving, often barely surviving.

you touched on this a little bit. but how did that define who you are now? >> i think that it has given me more appreciation for the incredible world i'm a part of now. it's given me appreciation for how fortunate i am to be on the path that i am, to have the opportunities that i have. i think it's given me a thicker skin. life experiences to pull from at a very young age, to become an artist on the stage, i think a lot of children who grow up blist fully unaware of what happens, that once you get on stage as a professional, as a performer, it's, like, where am i pulling this from, to become another person, to become a character. i think that having the experiences i did at home kind of allowed me to dig deeper. >> so i look at them as tools, and something that i tried to turn in to something positive.

>> tell me about your first bradley. >> cindy - i think that she was the first person that i felt believed i could do anything. i think my mother definitely thought that. she thinks that of all her children. just in the situation you grew up in, i don't think it was something that was spoken. and cindy would say it over and over again out loud. it was the first time i started to develop an identity of my own. i started to feel that i'm worthy i have a voice, i'm good at something, and she never made me feel that i was different to anyone, because i was african american, because of my circumstances, because i started late. she would say you are so extremely special. that, though, led to a very

turbulent time for you, whip you - when you go to live with your teacher, and there's a point where your mother is not okay with that. talk to ma about the process you went through of suing your mother for emancipation. >> i was 15 years old. when i say that, 15 years old, i think i was at the maturity and mind-set of an 11 year old. i was definitely a late bloomer and did not come into my own until i was probably in my 20s, and i think that dancing definitely gave me the opportunity to explore and to grow into the person that i don't think i could be without it. i would have never become this person without ballet. at that time, all i wanted to do was dance. and i was being told that - well, by my mother, first hand, that she wanted me to be home. which made complete sense.

i've given you almost three years to live with your teacher and get the training you needed, and now you need to get home. then i was hearing from my teacher, if you leave now, you may not dance again. i don't know if that's the priority within your family situation. your mother is a single parent, you know. just trying to survive and keep her children off the street and in school and fed. i was kind of being pulled between two worlds. one of which was a world i started to grow accustomed to, the ballet world, and i saw my future there. and the thought of losing that was like death. it was like i would die. >> wow. >> that was the identity that i - that i became. it was the first time i had an identity and it was through being a dancer. i felt special. the thought of losing that was terrifying. so to be 15 years old, and to be

so private, just by nature, and to have this emancipation that unravelled and turned into something more than i ever thought it was going to be. i thought it was going to give me an opportunity to be an adult and make the decisions to continue dancing, on my own, that i would be able to do with my teacher and i could see my family and everything would be great. that's just not how things worked out. i think that both parties had my best interests at heart. and were trying to do what they could to do what they thought was best for me. but being in a public school and having your story postured all over the media - not just within california, but all over the united states, was traumatising. >> you actually say to this day i'm still trying to understand mummy. do you understand your mother adult? >> i have more of an understanding and appreciation.

of course, i will never know probably until i'm a parent, but i try every day to understand. >> of course, you said the battle in my mind and spirit raged on. was that just you trying to work through the aftermath of everything. is that what that was? >> yes. to recover emotionally psychologically and then to be thrown into a new ballet studio. the only studio i knew was someone i took my first class at and was cynthia bradley. it was intimidating. people had preconceived ideas of who i was because they saw me all over the newspapers, and it was terrifying for me to walk into a school and we judged and people looking at me as though this is a prodigy, let's see what she has. >> it was a lot of pressure. >> it was a lot of pressure and a lot to handle after going

through what i went through. >> you are now one of the world's famous ballet dancers, you are a soloist at the american ballet theatre. have you commercials, books, a reality show. so many things have come after this difficult path that you had. did you ever envision - and i forgot, you danced with prince on stage - forgot that one. did you ever envision that this is what your life could be? >> no, no. it's hard to accept that it's a reality. i don't know, again, i'm just so humbled and grateful for the bagged that i have and the situation that i have been through and be standing that i want to forever be able to give back to ballet what it's done for me.

and that's the constant battle i have within myself, in improving myself to the ballet world, and getting out the exposure that i've been getting, that it's not about something as simple as someone wanting to be famous. i never wanted that. i want the ballet world to be given the respect that it deserves, and to be seen by more people. for so many to experience the beauty that i received from the ballet world. with every opportunity, and every incredible thing that happens, it's just a shock. >> overwhelming. >> it's overwhelming. and i never step outside of myself and think it's me, that's a proud moment, that's the girl i mentored.

that's ballet. it makes me so proud to be a part of it. >> that's a constant refrain in your book, for the brown girls, for the little brown girls that are constant. it's clear that that is what motivated you, and that's what drives you. i am sure there's little brown girls that meet you that probably get emotional when they see you. i can't imagine the pressure i would imagine. it has got to be kind of an hon you are, is it? >> i don't people any pressure from that at all. it's the same way i look at raven wilkinson and how emotional i got the first time i spoke to her, hear her story, being the first african-american to dance in a ballet company, to experience what she went through. i saw myself in her, and i know that that's what they are seeing

in me. and it pushes me to get going, setting an example to push as hard as i can as far as i can so they will have an easier past. >> you're watching "talk to al jazeera." stay with us as i speak to misty copeland as i talk about race

how do you process that? >> i don't think i really understood as a young adult when i became a professional. between like the ages. 17 and 18, up to 25, i wasn't in

an understanding that this is my instrument, and people are judging this and the way that i translate things through my body. i understand it now. and i work so hard to get it to look the way it does, and do the tippings -- things it does, and it takes so much training and sacrifice. it is what it is, it's art. people will look at it, judge it, and if that's what i - i understand that that's what i'm going to get back by putting myself out there on the stage. i feel comfortable with it. >> i was going to ask, are you insecure about that? >> i think everyone's body is constantly changing. it's a battle to maintain and so, of course, there are times, but for the most part, no. i'm comfortable being in this position, and being a professional for 15 years, my body is my instrument.

>> it occurred to me when you said that, knowing what a role model you are for young girls, that is a great message they can get from you about being secure in who they are, even when people are critical. it's a lot. i think that no one can just kind of convince themselves of this on their own. every day. forget the haters and what they are saying. we all have our moments of just like you can't convince yourself of that. it's important to have support and people around them when you have those moments, and when you can't get through. >> a lot of people assume that there are a lot of eating disorders in the world of ballet. cue you put it

in perspective. >> you know, we are athletes, and we have to take care of our bodies, but we physically have to be strong enough to get through eight hour rehearsal days five or six days a week and perform. you know, you wouldn't last very long if you were putting your body through that type of malnutrition and stand on your toes and do complicated work. that hasn't been my experience. ballet, obviously is largely considered a white sport. there you are on the stage. there you are really one of a kind for lack of a better term. but have there been moments of racism that you had to deal with face to face? >> not so much face to face, and i'm happy that i haven't had

that intense and dramatic traumatic experience, but i have dealt with it. it's definitely been more like second hand, hearing what people have said about me, and people in high places, as well as reading things. and you can't change everyone's opinions. all you can do is be the best you can be. for me, what has been hard is hearing from the young dancers that i mentor, and knowing that they have experienced it first hand and been told to their face "you're not the right colour for ballet, you don't belong, you shouldn't do this." and that, to me, is so awful for me to hear. and i feel like it's me hearing those words when i hear it from them. and just trying to, like, undo all the damage, and let them know that there is a way to kind of create your own path within the world of ballet. you have to be strong. >> well strong.

>> stronger than i think a lot of people realise. incredibly strong. you are saying this, i'm thinking in my head much of this dr pepper ad. is that your idea, the concept? >> no. >> it's spot on. >> i think that's why they came to me, because they found i fit into what the ideal was for that campaign, and it was so positive. and so i wanted to be a part of it. it's promoting that it's okay to be different, it's okay to not kind of follow this direct path that others have been on. kind. >> absolutely. you are the face of under armour. >> yes. >> it blew up on social media. it was huge, wonderful. and the campaign is called "i will what i want."

it talks about professional obstacles, rejection letters. how do you deal with that, with professional obstacles? maybe not always achieving what or being rewarded what you think you've worked for. >> that is something i definitely struggled with throughout my early years as a professional. not really understanding that it's not enough just to be talent. it took a long time to understand that we are in control of our destiny, and it's up to us to understand what we want, to execute what it is that we want, and not to be afraid to tell people what we want. i think that was the start of me ending up on the path i wanted to be on for my career. it was not just assuming these people were going to know what i wanted, but to let them know.

i work really hard, and i see myself having more of a future as a classical dancer, not just doing contemporary dance, and that's when i saw a change in my career. that's what i'm constantly saying to the kids that i mentor. just because you are thinking it doesn't mean people hear it. that you have to say it. >> that's very insightful, to sell young people at a young age to learn to speak up for yourself. that's what i hear you say. >> as dancers, it's engrained in us in the form at of how classical ballet works, where you are forever a student, which we are, but you are in the classroom and you don't speak, you just receive information from the people in the front of the room. you are not asked for your opinion. you kind of get used to not having a voice, and you get lost in that. >> you do still take class.

>> yes, we have to. it's a professional that never ends. it's not like - i don't know how to explain it. it's how we warm up every day and how we fine tune our instrument. it's the same way any instrument when you - i don't know what it is, what you call it when you fine tune it. it keeps it in tip-top form and shape. that's what ballet class does for us. >> you are watching "talk to al jazeera". more in >> start with one issue. education, gun control, the gap between rich and poor, job creation, climate change, tax policies, the economy, iran,

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goals is to become the first flat principal dancer at the american ballet theatre. still a goal? >> i think every dancer's goal is to - you know, we become dancers because we see those roles, and you dream of dancing these iconic roles, and so, of course, that is still my goal. but i don't want it to overshadow what is actually happening, because i'm so happy with where things are. and the roles that i'm distancing and every time i get an opportunity to dance them. it's not a quick fight to get to this position, but it's about the journey and learning and becoming the artist that i'm

becoming. if and when that happens, i will be completely ready and comfortable to accept the role. >> i think that you are breaking down stereotypes in a way that i don't think people realise the depths of it. way you are doing on the stage day. >> i hope so. that's the incredible thing about this art form, is that we have the opportunity to morph into these other characters, and though that we are so much deeper than the labels, and how people perceive, you know, the way they think we are, what we are capable of, and it's amazing to get the opportunities to prove them wrong. >> it's been, like - it's been an honour. >> thank you.

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