Misty Copeland’s next act is opening doors for the next generation of dancers

The Misty Copeland Foundation to host its inaugural Spring Benefit with star-studded co-chairs benefitting under-resourced communities.

One of the many initiatives Misty Copeland has pursued since retiring from professional ballet in 2025 is ensuring other dancers like her get their shot.

On Wednesday (Apr. 29), the Misty Copeland Foundation will host its inaugural Spring Benefit at The Pool + The Grill in New York to celebrate the 43-year-old trailblazing ballerina’s legacy and raise money for the foundation’s $1 million “Celebrating Misty Campaign,” supporting affordable and accessible dance programs for children and adults in the Bronx and Harlem, according to a release.

While Copeland is this year’s chair, she is joined by a star-studded list of honorary co-chairs, including choreographer and director Debbie Allen, acclaimed choreographer and artistic director Bill T. Jones, Emmy Award-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, Grammy Award-winning music icon Nile Rodgers, and award-winning actress and producer Tracee Ellis Ross.

“This work is deeply personal to me,” Copeland shared in a statement. “Dance changed the course of my life, and through the Misty Copeland Foundation, we are creating opportunities for children and adults to experience that same sense of confidence, discipline, and joy.”

She added, “I am incredibly grateful to everyone who joins us in supporting expanded access to dance in under-resourced communities.”

The event, billed as an evening of live music, dancing, specialty cocktails, and a curated menu from some of the Big Apple’s top restaurants, will raise funds for the foundation’s three flagship programs serving communities across Harlem and the Bronx: BE BOLD, BE BOLD Next Steps, and BE BOLDER. It’s all an effort to ensure Copeland’s legacy creates more opportunities for dancers like her who come from limited means but have big dreams.

Before Copeland made history as the first Black principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre in 2015 at age 32, she grew up in San Pedro, Calif., with her single mother and five siblings. She discovered ballet at the age of 13, roughly a decade later than most who go on to dance professionally, at a local YMCA. Without that program, she may have never taken the world by storm through dance.

Through BE BOLD, the foundation offers an after-school program for ages 5 to 12 that introduces children to ballet, music, health, and wellness, not unlike the program Copeland joined as a tween. Meanwhile, BE BOLD Next Steps provides a bridge for BE BOLD graduates pursuing more formal dance training. Adults age 50 and older who are interested in movement can join BE BOLDER.

“This benefit is about more than celebration—it is about sustaining opportunity,” Caryn Campbell, executive director of the Misty Copeland Foundation, said in the release. “The support raised through the Celebrating Misty Campaign allows us to deliver high-quality, free programs that make dance affordable, accessible, and fun for families who might not otherwise have access to the arts.”

This year’s benefit has also been an opportunity for the next generation. The 2026 benefit committee has been co-chaired by a group of young women, including a trio of Gen Zers—Justice Faith, Nia Faith, and Julie Kim—who are leading fundraising and event efforts.

“The mission of the foundation is to bring more diversity,” Copeland explained during an appearance in 2024. “How are we doing that in a real and lasting and meaningful way? And it’s going into these communities, and it’s showing them that we care, and it’s meeting them where they are and it’s getting these families and the community sites that we’re in to really buy into what we’re doing. We really created a framework that’s made for these children.”

She added, “And at the forefront of everything is joy, because I feel like that’s often so lost. What we want to do is really change that culture in a way where, you know, people want to be a part of this and it’s something that will continue on.”