Misty Copeland’s final Performance
The evening of October 22, 2025 at the American Ballet Theatre’s Fall Gala at the David H. Koch Theater marked more than a performance: it signaled the closing of one chapter of Misty Copeland’s career and the opening of another. After a five-year hiatus from the stage, Copeland returns to perform one final time with ABT—undeniably a moment steeped in history, reflection, and transformation.
From the moment she became the first Black female principal dancer in ABT’s then-85-year history in 2015, Copeland’s career has been more than choreography and pirouettes; it has been a cultural milestone. Her final performance is not simply a farewell—it is a celebration of extraordinary achievement, of barriers broken, and of the work still to come.
In the months leading to October, anticipation built. The gala is described as “a once-in-a-lifetime evening … her return to the stage after a five-year hiatus.” ABT+1 The program, while not fully disclosed, promises repertoire drawn from Copeland’s defining roles and moments—an artistic arc that maps out years of technical brilliance and cultural resonance.
As the lights dim on that night and the curtain rises, the audience will witness the culmination of not only a dancer’s journey but a broader legacy. Copeland’s ascent, her struggles, her triumphs—they all coalesce here. It is a rare moment when the spotlight is both on the individual and what she signifies for many others—aspiring dancers, young dancers of color, and lovers of ballet who long for inclusion and progress.
Her final act with ABT will be the last time many see her as part of that institution; it is an anchor point for a career that never rested on tradition alone. While the roles she danced—Odette/Odile, Juliet, Firebird—etched her name into ballet history, what reverberates beyond technique is the bridge she helped build between stages and overlooked communities.
In the dance world’s canon, endings often serve as beginnings. Copeland has repeatedly said that while this may be her final bow with ABT, it will not be her last dance. In that sense, the gala is both a farewell to one chapter and the overture to the next—whether that next act lives on stage, behind the scenes, or through advocacy, mentorship, and creativity.
What makes Copeland’s final performance especially poignant is the journey behind it. Having paused major performances, dealing with injuries and life changes, she returns with the weight of her history and the freshness of new intention. When a dancer returns to the stage after years away, the very act speaks of resilience and reinvention.
The gala itself is star-studded—honorary chairs like Oprah Winfrey and Caroline Kennedy support the event, underscoring Copeland’s reach beyond the ballet world. It speaks to how her career became intertwined with cultural and social movements, and not merely confined to the stage at Lincoln Center.
Within the choreography of farewell, there is also a mirror: each arabesque, each turn, each lift, holds not just aesthetics but affirmation—of self, of community, of possibility. To watch Copeland now is to see more than a body in motion; it is to witness a vessel of legacy guiding toward what’s next.
It’s also important to consider what she leaves behind: a more open door for underrepresented talents in ballet, a foundation that supports children in underserved communities, a voice in culture that refuses invisibility. The final performance is a punctuation mark, but the sentence goes on.
And so when she takes that stage in October, the applause will rise not only for thirty-odd years of dancing, but for what she became: an icon whose presence changed the account of ballet. In that light, this tonight is less about the end, and more about passage—movement from one state to another, as dance itself teaches.
For the audience, the gala is an invitation: to bear witness, to remember, to hope. And for Copeland, it is an affirmation: of what she achieved, of what she still plans, and of the stages—literal and metaphorical—still waiting. As the lights fade and the bows are taken, what remains is the imprint of her artistry and the possibilities she helped open for dancers who follow.
