t was clearly too mall for me, and i find it difficult to sit for any length of time. i apologize that it was necessary for me to leave my seat briefly but did i not mean to forfeit my right to vote. >> and don't let yourself be badly briefed. go to www.aljazeera.com. 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 >> on the stream >> from schools collecting data on your kids, to skyrocketing child identity theft, we'll show you, your kid's digital footprint, that's leaving an easy trail for criminals >> the stream on al jazeera america

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>> you know, we are -- we are athletes, and we have to take care of our bodies, but we physically have to be strong enough to get through 8-hour

rehearsal days and perform and do all of these things. so you wouldn't last very long if you were putting your body through that type of mall nutrition and then stand on your toes and do this incredibly complicated work. experience. >> ballet, obviously is largely considered a white sport, but 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 have 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 -- i have dealt with it, and it's definitely been more like secondhand, like hearing what people have said about me, and

people in high places, as well as just reading things, and you just can't change everyone's opinions all you can do is be the best that you can be, but for -- for me what has been hard is hearing from the young dancers that i mentor and know they have experienced it firsthand, and been told to their face, you are not the right color for ballet, you shouldn't do this, and to me is just to 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 undo all of the damage, and let them know that there is a way to kind of create your own path within the world of ball i will, you just have to be really strong. >> really strong. stronger than i think people realize, incredibly strong, and actually you are saying this, and i'm thinking in my head of this dr. pepper ad.

was that your idea? the concept? >> no, the one of a kind? >> yeah. >> i think that's why they came to me, because i fit into what the ideal was for that campaign. and it was so positive, and it is promoting that it is okay to be different. it's okay to not follow this direct path that others have been on, and it's okay to be one of a kind. >> absolutely. you are the face of under armour. it blew up on social media. it was huge. it was wonderful. and the campaign is called i will what i want. >> uh-huh. >> and it talks about professional obstacles, rejection letters. how do you deal with -- with [ laughter ] >> professional obstacles? with -- maybe not always

achieving what are -- or being rewarded what you think you have worked for? >> that is something that i definitely struggled with throughout my early years as a professional. not really understanding that it is not enough just to be talented. it took me a long time to understand that you -- we are in control of our destiny, and that it's up to us to first of all understand what we want, be able to execute what it is that we want, and not be afraid to tell people what we want, and i think that was kind of the start of me ending up on the path i wanted to be on for my career. 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 i think that's when i started to see a change in my career, but people need to understand that's

what i'm constantly saying to the kids that i'm monitoring, is that just because you are thinking it, doesn't mean people hear it. you have to say it. >> that's very insightful to tell young people at a very young age to tell them to speak up for themselves. >> especially as dancers. it's ingrained in us in the format of how classical ballet works, which is you are forever a student, 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, so you get used to not having a voice, and you can get lost in that. >> you do still take class? >> oh, yeah, as 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 also how we fine tune our

instrument, so it's the same way any instrument when you -- i don't know what it is that you call it -- when you fine tune it, it keeps it in tiptop shape. >> al jazeera's investigative unit has tonight's exclusive report. >> from coast to coast. >> people selling fresh water for fracking. >> stories that have impact. >> we lost lives. >> that make a difference. >> senator, we were hoping that we could ask you some questions about your legal problems. >> that open your world. >> it could be very dangerous. >> i hear gunshots. >> a bullet came right there through the window. >> it absolutely is a crisis. >> real reporting. >> this is what we do. >> america tonight. tuesday through friday. 10:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

♪ you are watching "talk to al jazeera," i'm richelle carey, and my guest this week, someone who has taken the ballet world by storm, missy copeland. i know one of your goals is to become the first black principal dancer at the american ballet theater.

still a goal? >> i think ever dancer's goal is to -- you know, we become dancers because we see those roles, and you dream of -- of dancing these iconic roles, and so of course that's 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 dancing, and every time i get an opportunity to dance them, that it's not just this quick fight to get to this position; but that it's about the journey and learning and becoming the artist that i'm becoming, so that if and when that happens, i will be completely ready and -- and comfortable to accept that role. >> i think that -- you are breaking down stereo types in a way that i don't think people realize the depth of it. and what you are doing on the

stage is chipping away at that every 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 show that we are so much deeper than the labels and how people perceive, you know, the way they think we are, and what we're capable of, and it's amazing to get the opportunities to be able to prove them wrong. >> it has been an honor. >> thank you.

. [music] >> hello from doha. this is the news hour on al jazeera. yemen's president flees from the capitol after being held by houthi rebels for weeks. we won a battle but not the war, greece's new government's cone sessions from the euro group team. and many escape fighting in myanmar. and how boko haram is