--- title: President Obama and Misty Copeland Interview description: There's a scene in a Ballerina's Tale, a documentary about Misty Copeland's ascension to the pinnacle of the ballet world, in which she confesses her... canonical: https://time.com/4262503/president-obama-and-misty-copeland-interview/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-17T10:56:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:59:01.995Z article:section: U.S. og:title: President Obama and Misty Copeland Interview og:description: There's a scene in a Ballerina's Tale, a documentary about Misty Copeland's ascension to the pinnacle of the ballet world, in which she confesses her... og:url: https://time.com/4262503/president-obama-and-misty-copeland-interview/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c69566f8b4c4085/69888b57cf40a86879c42705/president-obama-talks-with-ballerina-misty-copeland-about-race.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: president-obama-talks-with-ballerina-misty-copeland-about-race og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama and Misty Copeland Interview twitter:description: There's a scene in a Ballerina's Tale, a documentary about Misty Copeland's ascension to the pinnacle of the ballet world, in which she confesses her... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c69566f8b4c4085/69888b57cf40a86879c42705/president-obama-talks-with-ballerina-misty-copeland-about-race.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama and Misty Copeland Interview by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Mar 17, 2016 10:56 AM CUT  Obama and Copeland in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Feb. 29 Obama and Copeland in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Feb. 29CALLIE SHELL for TIME—Aurora by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Mar 17, 2016 10:56 AM CUT There’s a scene in a Ballerina’s Tale, a documentary about Misty Copeland’s ascension to the pinnacle of the ballet world, in which she confesses her fears. “I feel like a lot of the time what I’m being judged on is my aesthetic,” she admits. “It may not be said, but a lot of the time I don’t think that the classical-ballet world will ever accept me because I’m something different.” Since then, Copeland has become the first black principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, and the question is less whether her peers will accept her than how much she will change the world of classical dance. That’s a transition she is still in the process of making, and one that has found her looking to an unlikely mentor, the first black President of the United States, for guidance. “How do you stay grounded, humble and striving?” Copeland asked Barack Obama during a Feb. 29 conversation at the White House moderated by TIME. 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