Posted by | Ray Cornelius
The life of African-American dance star Misty Copeland may be the subject of a new biopic.
According to Deadline.com, Copeland’s rags-to-riches story is currently being developed by New Line Cinema. The film will chronicle her early years as a teen ballet prodigy who lived part-time with mother and siblings in a welfare motel and her sponsor family. However, as Copeland’s star began to rise, so did a custody battle between her mother and her host family.
The film is loosely based on Copeland’s NYT best-selling memoir, Life in Motion and will focus on mostly on her teen years. She is probably best known for making history as the second African-American female soloist to dance with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre. She is also the company’s first African-American ballerina to dance lead in Swan Lake. Copeland has also served on President Obama’s fitness council and has performed alongside music icon, Prince.
In other related news, dance legends Geoffrey Holder and Carmen De Lavallade are the subject of a new documentary available on Netflix titled, Carmen & Geoffrey.
According to Indie Wire, The film explores the couple’s professional and personal lives. Holder, is an award-winning dancer, painter, actor, music composer, book author and art collector. He is also the first black man to win a Tony Award for direction and costume design for his work in the 1974 Broadway classic, The Wiz. He is also probably best-known for his role as the 7-Up man and in the 90’s romantic comedy, Boomerang. His wife, Da Lavallade was the lead dancer for the Lester Horton Dance Theater and has performed alongside some of history’s greats including Duke Ellington, Alvin Ailey and Josephine Baker.
Click here to see the trailer!
Photo Credits: joelmuden.com and Pintrest.com
