BALLET FESTIVAL
Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
August 4-16, $87-$102
212-645-2904
www.joyce.org
On October 22, 2025, Misty Copeland retired from American Ballet Theatre after a twenty-five year career that included her becoming the first Black female principal dancer in the company’s history. But that hasn’t appeared to slow down the forty-three-year-old Kansas City native.
In December, she had hip replacement surgery. In March, she performed in a musical tribute to the film Sinners at the Oscars. In April she was honored at the Misty Copeland Foundation Spring Benefit as part of the Celebrating Misty Campaign. In May she received the Medal for Distinguished Service from Teachers College at Columbia and walked the red carpet at the Met Gala as a member of the host committee. In June she was named the inaugural recipient of the Lincoln Center Luminary Award, received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement for “exceptional accomplishment in the sciences, the professions, business, industry, arts, literature, sports, entertainment, and public service,” and delivered the keynote commencement address at the Success Academy Charter Schools graduation. In July she attended the FIFA World Cup Final in her role as a skin-care spokesperson. And on August 25, her latest children’s book, Firebird Waltz, will be published.
If that were not enough, she is also curating this year’s Ballet Festival, which runs August 4–16 and features dancers from American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Houston Ballet, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet, performing works by Ingrid Silva, Kyle Abraham, Bob Fosse, Houston Thomas, José Limón, Rudolf Nureyev, Dwight Rhoden, and Aleisha Walker the first week and Stanton Welch AM, Andrea Miller, Alonzo King, John Taras, Roland Petit, James Whiteside, and Ilo the second. Among the dancers are Madison Brown, Guillaume Diop, Joe Gonzales, Babatunji Johnson, Sae Eun Park, Taylor Stanley, April Watson, and Harper Watters.
“At the heart of my curation for The Joyce Ballet Festival is a celebration of Black, Brown, and Queer voices,” Copeland wrote on Instagram. “Ballet has a remarkable history, and I believe it grows stronger when we create space for a wider range of artists and perspectives. This festival honors that history while celebrating the artists expanding what ballet can be. I’m so excited to share these extraordinary performances with you.”
There will be a Summer Soirée on August 4, a Curtain Chat with Copeland and Complexions cofounder Desmond Richardson on August 5, and a teen ballet workshop on August 8 at New York Center for Creativity & Dance.
So what are you up to in your retirement?
[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]