“We really should be accustomed to prima ballerina Misty Copeland making us swoon by now. Every time we turn around, she’s doing something amazing, whether it’s starring on Broadway, shutting down body shaming and racial stereotypes with her inspiring Under Armour ads, hitting the New York Timesbestseller list with her bittersweet memoir or shattering boundaries by becoming the first African American dancer in history to be promoted to principal at the legendary American Ballet Theatre. TBH, we still haven’t quite recovered from watching A Ballerina’s Tale, the amaze documentary about her life, three nights ago on PBS.

Yet once again, Misty Copeland is taking our breath away. This time, in a stunning new series of photographs inspired by the art of Edgar Degas.

The pictures were taken by photographers Ken Browar and Deborah Ory of theNYC Dance Project and will appear in the upcoming March issue of Harper’s Bazaar. The breathtaking photos are a tribute to French Impressionist Edgar Degas, famous for his paintings and sculptures of dancers at the Paris Opéra Ballet during the 1860’s and 70’s. An exhibit of Degas’ work opens later this month at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Jodo Hauptman, the senior curator of the exhibit, which is called Edgar Degas: A Strange New Beauty, told Harper’s, “Degas’s focus on dance is part of his engagement with depicting the subjects, spaces, rhythms, and sensations of modern life. His vision wanders and focuses, taking note of what usually is overlooked and homing in on what best reflects the conditions of his time.”

As such, his ballet paintings frequently show dancers during rehearsal, in the wings, slipping on ballet shoes or adjusting their costumes…”

http://hellogiggles.com/misty-copeland-degas-dancing/