Who Says It's a Man's World

 

CHAPTER SIX

competition (yeah,let’s talk about it)

It is what it is, but it will become what you make it.

—Anonymous

MISTY COPELAND had overcome a lot since she began taking ballet—in a gym, not a studio—at the relatively late age of 13. While she showed prodigy-level talent, the fact that Misty was a teenager meant she had to work especially hard to compete against ballerinas who were practically en pointe as toddlers. (It’s easier to mold that famous “dancer’s body” before it’s fully developed.) Still, determined to give it a shot as a professional, Misty spent an “intense four years” eating, sleeping, and breathing dance. She was en pointe within 12 weeks (something she now calls “really dangerous”) and training six days a week, up to ...