Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina

Content Warning: This section contains references to racism, body image issues, and eating disorders.

“Tonight, I will become the first black woman to star in Igor Stravinsky’s iconic role for American Ballet Theatre, one of the most prestigious dance companies in the world.

As the Firebird.

This is for the little brown girls.”

The Prologue begins as Misty is about to premiere in the Firebird, making history as the first Black woman to perform the role with a major ballet company. In the Prologue and again later, she repeats her mantra that she does it for “the little brown girls” many times, setting up the themes of The Power of Mentorship and the Intersections of Race, Identity, and Art. The book comes full circle in the last two chapters when she returns to this opening moment.

“I was a nervous child. And my unease, coupled with a perpetual quest for perfection, made my life much harder than it needed to be.

I think I was born worried. […] I was just nervous about life, period. I felt awkward, as if I didn’t fit in anywhere, and I lived in constant fear of letting my mother down, or my teachers, or myself.”

Misty establishes her own character traits as a nervous, people-pleasing child. This is a recurring issue throughout the memoir, as her anxiety and her need to please others conflict with her own desires. Overcoming these issues is a major element of her development as an artist and a well-rounded adult.

“As a professional, you have to endure a tremendous amount of criticism and judgment leading up to a performance. […] But during the actual performance, when the music swells, and the crowd hushes, it’s all up to you—how high you leap, when you breathe. There’s no more time to worry or try to make it better. It either works or it doesn’t. You land with grace or you stumble and fall. That absoluteness, that finality, is freedom. And the stage was the one place where I felt it.”

Misty occasionally steps back from her personal narrative to reflect on her career in ballet and performance more generally, as she does here. The reality of being a performer means facing criticism in person and in the media, but all those voices fade away while on stage in the moment of performing.