Mission
The Misty Copeland Foundation was founded in 2021 by Misty Copeland, the first African American female principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre and a transformational figure in ballet. The mission of the Foundation is to:
- Provide opportunities for children in under-resourced communities to engage their bodies, hearts, and minds in learning through dance, especially ballet.
- Advance the art form of ballet through greater diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Pursue social justice through arts activism.
Impact
Children across the country lack access to quality afterschool programs. According to America After 3 p.m. 2020 from The Afterschool Alliance.
- For every child in an afterschool program, three are waiting to join one.
- 25 million more children would be enrolled if a program were available to them.
- Unmet demand disproportionately impacts communities of color.
The Misty Copeland Foundation aims to address this vast unmet need of children for high-quality afterschool programs by making ballet accessible, affordable, and fun. The BE BOLD program will offer a new “first step” opportunity in dance education, especially for young girls and boys of color. A robust evaluation system will measure BE BOLD’s impact to ensure that its efforts are effective. Learn more about the need for afterschool programs and our evaluation.