Misty Copeland knows her petition for diverse ballet slipper emojis isn’t urgent — that’s besides the pointe

Misty Copeland opens up about increasing diversity in the world of ballet and the “why” behind her ballet slipper emoji campaign.

Misty Copeland remembers the first time she saw a brown ballet slipper. She was 14 years old and performing in Debbie Allen’s iconic “Hot Chocolate Nutcracker” ballet. 

The brown slippers she saw among her fellow dancers had originally been standard European pink slippers the company members had “pancaked” — or splotched with foundation — until the color was closer to their skin tones. 

“It just opened my mind and my eyes to an even bigger world of possibilities as to what a ballerina could look like,” the professional dancer, 41, told

Copeland noted that ballet’s 15th-century origins in European countries are the genesis of the long legacy of pink ballet slippers. She explained that ballet dancers are meant to have a seamless, uniform look when standing amongst one another, and light pink tights and light pink slippers create that among fair-skinned dancers. 

“That’s not to say it’s wrong or right; that’s where ballet originated, that’s where it was created, and that’s what the people looked like there,” she added. 

However, the craft has come a long way from the days of solely fair-skinned ballet dancers dancing delicately across European stages. Ballet is now performed all over the world, and as Copeland maintains, it’s time even the most casual of conversational tools reflected that. 

As she pushes forward with her petition and spreads awareness across social media, the prima ballerina is aware of how the argument doesn’t register for some. As she told Vogue, this isn’t about them. 

“I’ve seen the comments and people that just don’t get it,” said Copeland. “And I feel like, well, This is not for you. Maybe that’s why you don’t understand it.”


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