A Ballerina's Tale Page #6

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14 years ago,

and she's always

wanted to meet you,

and here she is right here.

Oh, my God.

How old am I?

Can take a pic...

I think you're 12, 14.

I remember telling her

not too long ago,

with everything

that's happening...

the book deals,

the Under Armour endorsement,

you know, the Coach deal,

just everything that's going on,

the Diet Dr Pepper,

the speaking engagements...

you know,

"I... I understand

"that principal

is what you're aiming for,

"but what I think

you've built...

"what I think we've built...

"is so much bigger than that,

"that, you know, what we have

is not something

"that ABT or anyone else

can take away from you.

"And whereas before,

you felt very alone,

"you've got the world

on your side,

"so for all

intents and purposes,

"you've won.

You've won,

whether you become"...

because in people's minds,

she is a principal.

She is the star.

I cannot tell you

how many black men I know who...

I think they'd rather

go to Iraq,

have a relationship

conversation,

or have root canal

than go see a ballet.

But suddenly, they saw

an interview with Misty,

and they're like,

"You know, aren't you

"involved with ABT?

Can I come

see a performance?"

They're following her career.

They email me things about her.

That's sort of

the hormonal contingent.

When she gets people

in the theater,

people are actually

moved by the art form

and realize this isn't a bunch

of boring people in tutus.

It's exciting.

It's raw.

It's sexy.

It's alive.

It's about

the stuff of human life.

I need some time, please

My battery has died

I need to plug in

Just be electrified

I need to reboot

Or I am bound to crack

Don't know how long

my backup disk would last

Her ultimate goal

is to bring people

of all backgrounds to ballet,

people who never saw themselves

sitting inside

the Metropolitan Opera House,

making them feel welcome.

- Hello.

- She told me it's next Sunday.

It's good to see you.

Damn!

I got scared

when I came around the corner.

- What?

- Ah!

You really hadn't been?

No, I haven't been yet.

I've just seen photos.

Oh, my God.

And you can read

your name from it too.

I was like this,

"Ah!"

I thought I'd missed

something drastic.

- How are you?

- How are you?

Don't do anything crazy.

- Good to see you.

- Hi!

Oh, my God.

Are you ready for this?

This is amazing.

We were just

talking about you too.

We were just like...

And I'm like,

"Hold on."

And she's like,

"Do I talk to her?"

I was like, "I literally see her

everywhere on Facebook."

Like, everyone is like,

"Wow, look at this."

Just see 'em work, girl.

See 'em work.

- It was nice to meet you.

- Thank you so much.

- Yeah, same here, same here.

- Congratulations.

You're larger than life.

Now you literally are

larger than life.

We're all so proud of you,

and you will what you want.

- Cheers.

- I will what I want.

Go, Misty.

Thank you guys for coming down.

Thank you.

Aw!

This is what athletes do.

I didn't change

my shoes this time.

We will talk about...

I did exactly

what you told me not to do.

- We will talk.

- Okay.

You're doing very hard

for yourself.

You do it like this and then try

to stay on the pointe

and go there.

Yeah.

Don't finish over there,

and then we will come.

It's a major coup, I think,

that ABT has recently cast Misty

to play Odette/Odile

in "Swan Lake,"

one of the most iconic ballets

in the classical repertoire.

People think ballet,

they think "Swan Lake,"

but they don't usually

think of a black white swan.

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