Misty Copeland is the First African-American Principal Dancer
BALDWIN: History has been made within the exclusive halls of the venerable American ballet theater because for the first time in the company's 75-year history, it has named an African-American woman as a principal dancer. She is 32 years of age. She is Misty Copeland who just this year made the list for "Time" magazine's 100 most influential people. I want you to look at her face when the news first came down.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Misty, take a bow.</s>BALDWIN: Copeland's road to success has not been an easy one. A hint of her struggles as a buddy dancer revealed in this under armor commercial.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dear candidate, thank you for your application to our ballet academy. Unfortunately, you have not been accepted. You lack the right feet, Achilles tendons, turnout, torso length and bust. You have the wrong body for ballet, and at 13 you are too old to be considered.</s>BALDWIN: My goodness. Charisse Jones is with me who helped Copeland pen the autobiography entitled "life in motion, unlikely ballerina." Joins us also a travel correspondent for "USA today." Wonderful having you here.</s>CHARISSE JONES, CO-AUTHOR, MISTY COPELAND AUTOBIOGRAPHY: Thank you for having me.</s>BALDWIN: I'm saying just looking at her that body, those muscles.</s>JONES: It's amazing.</s>BALDWIN: My goodness.</s>JONES: Absolutely. She's gorgeous.</s>BALDWIN: After she became principal, you know, there was some texting between the two of you.</s>JONES: Yes, a little bit.</s>BALDWIN: Can you share? What did she say?</s>JONES: Basically that she was just thrilled, that the promotion had finally come. She was very emotional. Everyone that knows and loves Misty was overwhelmed, to see that this moment in history had finally arrived.</s>BALDWIN: You said finally twice now. This is something that should have happened already.</s>JONES: Yes, I would think so.</s>BALDWIN: Let's be real.</s>JONES: She was a soloist for about eight years which is a very long time to be at that level. And frankly in the ballet world there's been a lot of resistance to seeing a black woman at that level. They don't envision a ballerina look looking like Misty Copeland, basically flaxen hair and ivory skin and that's not Misty. So she had to fight that kind resistance for years to finally make it to this plateau.</s>BALDWIN: Her background. I mean, she comes from humble beginnings.</s>JONES: Absolutely.</s>BALDWIN: I have read that she wasn't brought up listening to classical music.</s>JONES: No.</s>BALDWIN: She hadn't put on ballet shoes until she was 13 which is considered pretty late.</s>JONES: It is considered ancient in the world of ballet. And she was at a boys and girls club when she took her first ballet club, didn't have a leotard, didn't have Tutu. Basically was in baggy gym clothes and stood at a point within a month which is extraordinary. That just doesn't happen. One of six children raised by a single mom who lived in a hotel room for part of her childhood, bounced from home to room and moved a lot. So she was this extraordinarily gifted child that had all of these obstacles to overcome and finally was launched on this incredible path.</s>BALDWIN: Can I just ask a very simple question. Why does she love it so much?</s>JONES: I think that it was a real refuge for her when she was a little girl, from what she was going through in her personal life. And, you know, she's just incredibly talented and she wants to see other girls that look like her get the opportunity to dance at the met and to embrace this incredible art form, and open the gates to this art that she loves to the world so that it reflects society at large.</s>BALDWIN: Did she ever have moments where she would have hung up her toe shoes?</s>JONES: I think she had moments of self-doubt. I think she worried that this day was never going to come because it took so long. But, you know, in that commercial she talks about persistence and not letting anyone tell you what you cannot do and she triumphed in the end.</s>BALDWIN: Do you think, you know, she obviously wants to have other girls look like her, but not that, I mean, I think the audience, when you think of who typically goes to the ballet, right? Let's shake that up a little bit.</s>JONES: She's brought diversity to the stage and to the audience. If you go to a Misty Copeland performance you see every e ethnicity, every age group, people who have never been to the ballet. she's made ballet hip, cool, part of pop culture so she really has, you know, made up much more inclusive. And that's something that is important for this art to continue and continue to thrive.</s>BALDWIN: Misty Copeland, I want to talk to you. Charisse Jones, thank you so much for coming on. I really appreciate it. Our congratulations to her, definitely.</s>JONES: Thank you.</s>BALDWIN: Next, a man is pulled underwater during yet another shark attack what. What witnesses say they saw on this beach, another North Carolina beach? That's ahead. Also, the U.S. women's soccer team has a message.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We go into the ship. We're going to the ship. We're going to the ship.</s>BALDWIN: That ship as in the championship. They're headed to, is the World Cup final. Next we'll talk to a woman who's been in the exact same spot and went on to win that World Cup. We'll talk to goalie Brianna Scurry, next.