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Misty Copeland's Broadway Debut Was 'Incredible'

The ballet superstar tore up the stage in On the Town.

After dominating the stage at the American Ballet Theatre for years, Misty Copeland finally brought her talents about twenty blocks downtown to Broadway. The dance superstar made her debut in On the Town this week, and it was an experience she says swept her off her feet.

"It's an incredible feeling," she said after her first curtain call. "I felt nervous that I was going to forget stuff, which I don't typically feel. We rehearse so much as ballet dancers and the steps become ingrained in your muscle memory."

8 LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM MISTY COPELAND

In the production, Copeland plays Miss Turnstiles, a love interest for one of three sailors enjoying a few hours of shore leave in 1940s New York. The role generously showcases Copeland's ballet skills, but also required plenty of acting and singing, which she had only six weeks to rehearse. But Copeland admits the Broadway crowd gave her a very warm welcome.
"The audience is so different from what I'm used to. You know immediately that they are excited to be here, and it's an incredible feeling. I just felt so overwhelmed — that first entrance and throughout," she said. 
2015 is certainly turning out to be the year of Misty Copeland. From her record-breaking Under Armour commercial (views: 8 million and counting) to becoming the first Black woman to be appointed principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre and, most recently, her engagement to Taye Diggs' hunky little brother, it seems like things just can't get any better for the 32-year-old. 
Watch our inspiring interview with Copeland below!

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(Photo: Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Gotham Magazine)

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