Misty Copeland, the star of Under Armour's “I Will What I Want” campaign, has become the first African-American female principal dancer at the American Ballet Theater.
Her promotion was announced Tuesday by the ABT. Copeland, who has spoken publicly about race in ballet and appeared on the cover of Time magazine earlier this year as one of its “100 Most Influential People,” has been with the company for more than 14 years and was named a soloist there in 2007.
Copeland has been dazzling ballet audiences and young fans with leading roles in “Swan Lake” and Stravinsky's “The Firebird.”
Under Armour's advertisement, launched last August, has garnered more than 8 million views on YouTube. The video is viewable here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY0cdXr_1MA
