To Misty Copeland, Instagram isn't just a place to show off her dance moves. It's been a transformative platform for introducing people to ballet.
Copeland is the lead dancer for American Ballet Theatre — one of the most prestigious dance companies in the world — and the first African-American woman to hold that position. She told INSIDER that Instagram was her favorite social media platform because she's seen fans who may otherwise be intimidated by ballet and opera to have a peek into her life.
"I've connected with the most people using Instagram’s platform," she said. "I just think that it allows people who may have felt intimidated — or they didn't belong in [spaces] like the Metropolitan Opera House — it kind of gives them a view into my world."
Copeland said that Instagram allows her to reach out to black communities that might not normally be engaged with ballet.
"It's really interesting. Especially when I go into black communities or urban communities, and they're like, 'We don’t like ballet,'" she said. "And I’m like, 'Have you ever seen a ballet?' And they're like, 'No.' I feel like it's getting them in the door. And once they see it, they’re like, 'Oh my gosh.'"
One of Copeland's chief achievements in her career is enlarging the circle of people who are interested in dance as an art form, which she partially accomplishes with her 1.6 million-strong Instagram following. John Legend — who, like Copeland, is participating in the #FillYourCartForGood dance challenge to donate food for communities in need — told INSIDER that he himself learned about her through social media.
"I feel like it inspires a lot of people to feel they can do it too, and that's really powerful," he said. "I think Misty in particular is really powerful in that sense, where so many people believe they can do something they never imagined before by having that access to it."
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