2007
Misty Copeland is promoted to soloist at American Ballet Theatre
Misty Copeland joined the American Ballet Theatre in 2000 and became a member of the corps de ballet in 2001. In 2007, Copeland became the second African American female soloist in the company’s history.
Misty Copeland joined ABT’s Studio Company in September 2000 and joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in April 2001. She was appointed to soloist in August 2007 and principal dancer in August 2015. Her roles with the company include Gamzatti, a Shade, and the Lead D’Jampe in La Bayadère; Milkmaid in The Bright Stream; the Autumn Fairy in Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella; Blossom in James Kudelka’s Cinderella; Swanilda and the Mazurka Lady in Coppélia; Gulnare and an Odalisque in Le Corsaire; Mercedes, Queen of the Dryads, the lead gypsy, and a flower girl in Don Quixote; the Masks in Christopher Wheeldon’s VIII; the Firebird in Alexei Ratmansky’s Firebird; Flower Girl in Gaîté Parisienne; Zulma and the peasant pas de deux in Giselle; Queen of Shemakhan in The Golden Cockerel; the Waltz in Les Sylphides; Lescaut’s Mistress in Manon; Clara, Columbine, and one of The Nutcracker’s Sisters in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker; Bianca in Othello; a Gypsy in Petrouchka; the Lead Polovtsian Girl in the Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor; the Saracen Dancer in Raymonda; Cowgirl in Rodeo; Juliet and a Harlot in Romeo and Juliet; Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty; and Odette-Odile, the pas de trios, a cygnet, and the Hungarian Princess in Swan Lake.
She has had lead roles in the Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Birthday Offering, Duo Concertant, Bach Partita, The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Monotones I, and Symphonic Variations. She has also been featured in in Airs, Amazed in Burning Dreams, Baker’s Dozen, Ballo della Regina, Black Tuesday, The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Brief Fling, Company B, Désir, Gong, Hereafter, In the Upper Room, Overgrown Path, Pretty Good Year, Private Light, Raymonda Divertissements, Sechs Tänze, Sinatra Suite, Sinfonietta, Thirteen Diversions, Within You Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison and workwithinwork.
Source:
Misty Copeland, American Ballet Theatre
Other Happenings in 2007
Ballet/Dance History
Craig Hall is promoted to the rank of soloist at New York City Ballet.
Collage Dance Collective gives its debut performance in Kansas City, Missouri.
American History
Jan 4: The 110th United States Congress convenes and elects Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House.
Apr 18: The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.
Dec 17: Republic of Lakotah asserts independence from the United States.
World History
May 16: Nicolas Sarkozy becomes the 23rd President of France.
Jul 25: Pratibha Patil is sworn in as India’s first female President.
Oct 17: The Dalai Lama receives the United States Congressional Gold Medal.
Oct 29: Argentina elects its first female President: Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
Arts & Sciences
Jan 9: Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs announces the iPhone.
Jan 11: J.K. Rowling finishes the 7th and last Harry Potter novel.
Feb 28: Jupiter flyby of the New Horizons Pluto-observer spacecraft.
Jun 10: 61st Tony Awards—Spring Awakening and The Coast of Utopia win.
Sports
Jan 27: Australian Open Women’s Tennis—Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova.
Feb 4: Super Bowl XLI—Indianapolis Colts beat Chicago Bears; MVP: Peyton Manning, Indianapolis, QB.
Jun 14: 61st NBA Championship: San Antonio Spurs beat Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jul 7: Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Lowest ever seeds contest final, Venus Williams (23rd seed) beats Marion Bartoli (18th seed).
Dec 29: New England Patriots become the first team in NFL history to finish the regular season 16-0.