A Ballerina's Tale

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A Ballerina's Tale

Released Oct 14, 2015

1h 28m

Documentary

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78%

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18 Reviews

56%

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250+ Ratings

Misty Copeland becomes the first African-American woman to be promoted to principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre.

Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

George's ace in the hole is his subject herself. Copeland is captivating, oozing talent and charisma in equal parts.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 18, 2016

Full Review

Mary McNamara

Los Angeles Times

A Ballerina's Tale is far from an exhaustive or even complete documentary, but George... captures the behind-the-scenes grit required of any great artist while also making it clear why this artist is more important than most.

Feb 8, 2016

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Martha Schabas

Globe and Mail

As an examination of how idealized conceptions of the ballerina have fed racial homogeneity in the industry, A Ballerina's Tale sticks with stuff we already know.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 15, 2016

Full Review

Ren Jender

Bitch Flicks

This documentary shows what many of us know from real life, that artists need support systems in place-and women and people of color often have to build their own.

Mar 8, 2019

Full Review

Sarah Boslaugh

Playback:stl

...sometimes this film feels like the work of a publicist rather than a documentarian, but it's still worth seeing, particularly if you are interested in ballet.

Rated: 6/10

Feb 26, 2016

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Norman Wilner

NOW Toronto

George approaches his subject with a great deal of respect, which sometimes makes the film seem a little cautious. But the more time he spends with Copeland, the more I could appreciate the choice.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 14, 2016

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Audience Member

I am doing a paper on Misty Copeland for my Diversity of Film class at SCC and it will go in our Library Archives for people to look up. I feel great about this. We need more Diversity in this World. and she is all about that. thank you. Elizabeth

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

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Audience Member

The path and challenges Misty Copeland had to face in order to become the first black principal dancer in a major ballet company. A lot to learn and accomplish in 2016 America.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

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Audience Member

Misty Copeland making history!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

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Audience Member

This was a brilliantly done documentary about a unique and powerful ballerina's journey.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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Audience Member

getting to the top isn't an easy ride

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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Audience Member

Misty Copeland is interesting, but this film is not. The cinematography is bad, the editing is worse. Clearly the filmmakers had no access to the space or people at ABT. There's no story. It's too bad -- clearly the filmmaker had great access to Ms. Copeland, but he just didn't know what to do with it. There's nothing here. The dancing isn't even that interesting. I'd skip it if I were you.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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Nelson George

Director

Misty Copeland

Actor

Leslie Norville

Producer

Nelson George

Producer

Dorria L. Ball

Executive Producer

Misty Copeland

Executive Producer

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A Ballerina's Tale: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Misty Copeland becomes the first African-American woman to be promoted to principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre.

Director: Nelson George
Producer: Leslie Norville, Nelson George
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Urban Romances, Rumble Audio, Nice Dissolve
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 14, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 4, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $93.9K
Runtime: 1h 28m

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