San Pedro’s Own Misty Copeland Comes Out of Retirement for the Oscars

By Rosie Knight, columnist

“It was such an honor to be on that stage.”

San Pedro has a bevy of iconic residents who have gone on to create great art, but likely none as groundbreaking and globally renowned as Misty Copeland. Although she was born in Kansas City, Missouri, Copeland was raised in our very own town and attended Point Fermin Elementary before she became enthralled with ballet and began to pursue it formally when she was in her early teens. Rising up the ranks and seen as a rare young prodigy who wasn’t studied since early childhood, Copeland would go on to become the first African American woman to become a principal dancer in the 75-year history of the American Ballet Theatre. 

Ryan Coogler’s groundbreaking — and now four-time Oscar-winning — Sinners paid homage to Copeland and her principal debut “Firebird” in the now iconic “I Lied to You” sequence that shows just how thin the veil between the past and present of Black ancestors and Black music history is. That was brought to life once again on the Oscars stage with many of the trailblazing creators who were part of the film and its centerpiece musical showcase. Led by star Miles Caton and musician Raphael Saadiq, who were joined by Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Bobby Rush, Shaboozey, and Alice Smith. The “Piercing the Veil” set piece was the highlight of a relatively drama-free Oscars, and allowed Copeland to take the stage again just months after announcing her retirement. 

“To be a part of something like Sinners and that incredible cinematography in that scene in particular in the film,” Copeland told Variety. “I was like ‘Yes! I’m going to somehow make this happen,’ even though I’m not dancing at the moment.”

She continued, “it was such an honor to be on the stage and share the stage with such incredible talent, and I’m so proud of Michael B. Jordan, who took home best actor.”

San Pedro was abuzz with excitement of seeing its hometown girl on stage at the Oscars, especially in the wake of negative comments from one-time Best Actor frontrunner Timothee Chalamet. The actor offhandedly took a swipe at ballet and opera, stating that “no one cares” about the art forms in the lead up to the famed award show, causing much online conversation. 

So of course, to some audience members her appearance felt like something of a response to the performer, though she had already made her feelings clear after being asked to promote Chalamet’s now Oscar flop Marty Supreme (the Josh Safdie-directed film went on to lose all nine of the awards it was nominated for) days before his comments. 

“First, I have to say that it’s very interesting that he invited me to be a part of promoting ‘Marty Supreme’ with respect to my art form,” she revealed on an Aveeno panel. “I think that it’s important that we acknowledge that, yes, this is an art form that’s not ‘popular’ and a part of pop culture as movies are, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have enduring relevance in culture.”