Why Did Misty Copeland Retire? She Says Her Ballet Reign Is Far From Over

Professional ballerina Misty Copeland’s historic run in the ballet industry will forever be unmatched. In 2015, the dancing prodigy rose to prominence when she became the first Black woman to be promoted to principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, a moment 75 years in the making. Misty has remained beloved by celebrities and other notable leaders, including Prince, Debbie Allen, and President Barack Obama.

In addition to her performance skills, Misty became a formidable advocate of promoting diversity in ballet, a published author, a Barbie, and challenged the industry’s traditional beauty standards, though not without controversy. After 25 years of keeping her foot on her critics’ necks, Misty's ready to put down her performance slippers and retire from ballet.

Here's what she's said about her retirement and her next act.

While Misty won't be on the ballet stage anymore, she decided to retire to take the ballet industry to new heights from within. According to her interview with Harper's Bazaar ahead of her final performance, her retirement is more of a "transition," as she will continue focusing on putting ballet in the media in innovative ways through her creative and philanthropic efforts. Throughout her career, Misty founded The Misty Copeland Foundation, which, according to the foundation's Instagram bio, aims to "bring greater diversity, equity, and inclusion to dance, especially ballet."

Misty also created Life In Motion, a "dance community celebrating the power of movement." Additionally, she partnered with fellow ballerina-turned-producer Leyla Fiyaz to create Life in Motion Productions and produced a short film, Flower, through the company. There's also Misty's athletic apparel line, Greatness Wins, with Derek Jeter. Now that we've laid out all of Misty's extracurricular activities, it's a wonder she was able to get rehearsal time!

In June 2025, the award-winning dancer confirmed her retirement in a heartfelt Instagram post. The post included photos from her interview with The New York Times, which was the first to break the story.

"After 25 years with @abtofficial, I'll be taking my final bow this fall," Misty captioned her post. "Thank you for giving me the space to thoughtfully look back on my career through the highs and the lows. And although I'll be saying farewell to the stage, I'll always be committed to opening doors, creating space, and making ballet a place where everyone belongs."

Several months after announcing her retirement, American Ballet Theatre honored Misty with a star-studded farewell gala. According to CNN, the gala will include tributes from Oprah Winfrey and Debbie Allen, a final performance from Misty featuring excerpts from Romeo and Juliet and Sinatra Suite, and the world premiere of a pièce d’occasion choreographed by Kyle Abraham. Tickets for the gala were sold for $5,000 each, though ABT provided free tickets to a simulcast held at Alice Tully Hall.

The honorable event may be the last time Misty graces the ABT's stage, but those who met her through her dancing shouldn't expect her to stop performing anytime soon.

"What I’m trying to make clear, which I feel like hasn’t been clear, is that I’m not retiring,” she declared, according to an interview with Harper's Bazaar. “This is the end of ABT for me. But I want to continue performing in some capacity.”