From PBS NewsHour.

Misty Copeland took her final bow as an American Ballet Theatre principal dancer on Wednesday, a role she’s had for the past 10 years. In June, Copeland announced her retirement from the company she’s spent the last 25 years with. "It’s time for me to move to the next stage," Copeland told The Associated Press.

She made history ten years ago when she became the company’s first Black female principal dancer in its 75-year history and has used her platform to promote diversity in ballet. "My whole career is proof that when you have diversity, people come together and want to understand each other and want to be a community together," Copeland told The New York Times.

"So many young Black and brown people didn’t even know Lincoln Center was a place they could step foot in," Copeland added. "When they see my poster on the front, they feel like it opens their minds up to a whole new world."

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