in conversation with author Charisse Jones and
SMAPA dance academy director and founder Sharron Miller
LIFE IN MOTION: An Unlikely Ballerina
Mt. Hebron Middle School - 173 Bellevue Avenue - Montclair, NJ
RSVP required at Watchung Booksellers - 973-744-7177 or [email protected]
Life in Motion is an insider's look at the cutthroat world of professional ballet, as well as a moving story of passion and grace for anyone who has dared to dream of a different life. This touching memoir reveals Copeland’s journey to becoming a history-making soloist candidly: from being asked to lighten her features to better blend in with her fellow dancers onstage, to a highly-publicized court case that nearly took her away from ballet for good—a haunting topic that Copeland discussed here for the first time. But Copeland also takes readers backstage at America’s national ballet company, and gives readers a front row seat to her triumphs, her passionate artistic process, and collaborations with luminaries from Prince to Twyla Tharp.
Misty Copeland is a recipient of the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Arts, an inductee into the Boys and Girls Club Alumni Hall of Fame, and the National Youth of the Year Ambassador of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Copeland was honored at BET’s 2013 Black Girls Rock! with the Young, Gifted and Black Award, and her many appearances as a spokeswoman for Under Armour and Coach, as a judge on Dancing With The Stars and as the face of ABT’s Project Plie have helped to bring ballet to the masses. Copeland lives in New York City. Charisse Jones is an award-winning journalist with USA Today. A former staff writer for the New York Times and theLos Angeles Times, she has been a commentator for National Public Radio and has appeared on several television shows including CBS This Morning and The Today Show. Jones also co-authored the American Book Award winning Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America.