Today, Misty Copeland is a world-renowned ballerina, known for becoming the first Black female principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre. But her journey began at a San Pedro Boys & Girls Club basketball court in 1995.
Cindy Bradley, founder and artistic director of the San Pedro City Ballet, was teaching a free youth class when the 13-year-old caught her eye.
“Immediately, I saw her potential,” Bradley told LA Dance Chronicle, adding that she offered the promising young dancer a scholarship to come train with her. “A few months later, she started coming every day.”
San Pedro City Ballet – Photo by George Simian.
One day, Copeland’s mother informed Bradley that her daughter would have to stop training because she didn’t have a reliable way to get home, Bradley said. Driving her star student home that night, Bradley discovered an unfortunate reality: Copeland’s family was living out of a motel.
“When I drove away, I was crying, and I thought I was leaving the most gifted student I would ever see in my life behind,” Bradley recalled. “I turned around, and I asked her mother if she could come and stay with my family — my husband, Patrick, and our son, Wolf, and me — and train. I felt that that was going to give her a future.”
Copeland lived with the Bradleys for three formative years and spent her summers training with the San Francisco Ballet and ABT. Three decades later, as she prepares to take her final bow with ABT on Oct. 22, she still hasn’t forgotten her San Pedro roots. Most recently, she surprised Bradley with an appearance at San Pedro City Ballet’s 30th Anniversary in 2023.
American Ballet Theatre – The Nutcracker – Misty Copeland as Clara and Merman Cornejo as Nutcracker Prince – Photo by Doug Gifford.
To commemorate Copeland’s retirement, the Ballet has commissioned a mural on the side of its studio building, replacing the one painted by New York artist KFish in 2015. The new work, funded by Arts United San Pedro and created by local muralist El Mac, depicts an abstract version of the dancer with her arms and head tilted toward the sky — almost like she’s floating.
Though the mural is already finished and viewable to the public, the Ballet invites the community to come experience it up close at a special “unveiling” event Sunday, Oct. 5. The outside component will be free, while a ticketed fundraiser will take place inside the studio, including a meet and greet with El Mac, a performance by two of the Ballet’s principal dancers and music from King Steady Beat, a local DJ.
“It’s been really a good thing that has brought our community together, because they could literally witness it coming to life,” said Arts United coalition coordinator Lex Motley. “It’s just being able to come and see the completed form of that and celebrating what the San Pedro Ballet means to the community, and what Misty means to the community, and that continued relationship for all generations.”
Bradley first met El Mac, whose legal name is Miles MacGregor, through her hairdresser at Subterranean Salon, who lives next door to the artist. Though El Mac moved to San Pedro in 2016, he had never painted a local mural before this project.
Mural of Misty Copeland in progress – Photo by Lex Motley.
“When I saw his art, I just knew he would be the perfect artist for the mural,” Bradley said. “There was no question in my mind that he would definitely be able to do this work justice.”
Copeland and El Mac haven’t met in person, but they worked together remotely to choose a reference photo that would properly fit the space. The artist was most interested in capturing the juxtaposition between Copeland’s grace and the “grit” of the surrounding environment, home of the Port of Los Angeles, he said.
“The character and history here is so much intertwined with blue collar culture. Organized labor history is so heavy here,” El Mac said. “So I guess that contrast with Misty and the kind of grace and gentleness of ballet, it’s definitely something that struck me.”
Mural by El Mac of Misty Copeland in progress – Photo by Lex Motley.
Watching El Mac paint on the side of the building day after day inspired Bradley to choreograph a duet, aptly titled “Grit and Grace,” which will premiere at the mural unveiling.
“It was really an amazing thing to watch, and it gave me a feeling when he was turning that wall into Misty, there was this connection,” Bradley said. “So I have our male principal portraying Miles and our female principal is the subject, and it’s about that relationship that, in my mind, Miles was having with his subject, being Misty, as he created this work of art.”
The Ballet is also working on incorporating an augmented reality component to the mural. Once it’s completed, students on field trips will be able to scan the mural on their phones and experience how it was created from start to finish.
Mural of Misty Copeland in progress – Photo by Lex Motley.
“There will be a video from Misty talking about the mural and the collaboration between her and (El Mac) to let people know what it’s like to bring these two huge art forms together in a really special way,” said Gabbi Herrera, the Ballet’s studio director.
For students at the Ballet School, Copeland continues to be a source of inspiration. The ballerina FaceTimed them when her Barbie was released in 2016, and she signed many of their pointe shoes backstage at the 30th Anniversary. In her bestselling children’s book series “Bunheads,” Copeland also pays tribute to the company with characters based on Bradley and other San Pedro dancers she grew up with.
“I’ve been with the studio for 10 years to see how much (Copeland) stays involved and how special it is for the kids, because they feel like they’re meeting the most famous person,” Herrera said. “That is their idol.”
The Ballet has not been immediately impacted by recent federal funding cuts — including sweeping National Endowment for the Arts terminations in May — though it anticipates funding to slow down soon, Bradley said. But the company is grateful for the support from Arts United San Pedro, which was able to fund 16 artists in its last grant season, according to Motley.
Before partnering with the Ballet for the mural project, Motley was already connected with the company through her son, who takes classes there. This December, for the second year in a row, she’ll join him onstage in “The Nutcracker” as one of the adults in the party scene.
Misty Copeland – Photo by Renata Pavam.
“My grandmother was a dancer, and because of the time that she grew up in during the Jim Crow era, they didn’t believe in Black ballerinas back then. So to be able to have me and my son be able to do the things she wasn’t able to do really moves her,” Motley said. “She knew who Misty Copeland was and she thought it was really cool that we were a part of a project like this.
“So it’s not just about the community in San Pedro and how she affected there. It’s globally. It’s nationwide. Everybody knows who she is, and she’s such a great representation of people who have formerly been ousted from different activities, and now they’re able to do these amazing things.”
To learn more about the San Pedro City Ballet, please visit their website.
For more information about the Misty Copeland Mural Unveiling on October 5, 2025 and to purchase tickets, please click HERE.
Written by Lauren Harvey for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Mural by El Mac of Misty Copeland for the San Pedro City Ballet – Photo by George Simian.
