Health Update: Health Update: Misty Copeland on hip replacement surgery, retirement – What Experts Say– What Experts Say.
See Misty Copeland take her final American Ballet Theatre bow
Misty Copeland, the first Black woman to serve as a principal dancer at the renowned American Ballet Theatre, took her last bow for the company.
For Misty Copeland, the word “perfection” is always top of mind.
But the ballerina, who was the first Black woman to serve as a principal dancer at the renowned American Ballet Theatre, took her final bow with the company in October 2025. Her one-word theme for the year ahead is “precision.” She’s prioritizing consistency in her health and wellness journey, and listening to her mind and body rather than striving for perfection.
Copeland is partnering with Nature Made, an American dietary supplement and vitamin brand, and spoke on a panel for the company Jan. 22. Before the event, USA TODAY sat down with the dancer to talk motherhood, wellness regimens and why she needed hip replacement surgery following her farewell performance.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Question: Ballet is a sport known for being tough on the body. How has your relationship to wellness and how you take care of yourself been changing since your retirement last fall?
Answer: I don’t know that it’s really changed that much since “retirement.”
How do you feel about the word?
I’m not retired in any way from anything. The only thing is that I’ve left American Ballet Theatre (ABT). Being an athlete and a dancer for 30 years, professionally for 25, taught me so much about myself, taking care of my body and what that means to me. To me, it’s a holistic lifestyle choice. It’s not about diet or exercise fads. Ballet has set me up for how I approach my life. Even though I’m not dancing at ABT right now, I still have the same mindset in terms of prioritizing wellness overall and what that looks like. I guess the big change is that I had hip replacement surgery four weeks ago. So, I’ve been immobile. But it’s all a part of getting older and being an athlete. It’s a good lesson to experience something like this. It’s part of accepting the beauty of having a body and how strong and powerful it is, and what we can come back from. So, not a ton has changed because throughout most of my career, I’ve had a pretty clear idea of the messaging and the importance of being a positive example for the next generation, the importance of moving your body and being a part of a sport or an art form and making it accessible for all people to be a part of. That’s definitely still a big part of my everyday life.
Was hip pain something you experienced while you were still dancing?
While I was preparing for my farewell performance, yes. I had not experienced hip pain throughout my career, but this last year, preparing to go back onstage, it was crazy. And then the actual performance, I was in so much pain. I found out after that I had to have the hip replacement.
How do you deal with that? You’re struggling, but it’s also emotionally significant. It’s saying goodbye, but you have a whole separate side of your head that’s dealing with this pain. What was that like?
It’s hard to know, am I this way because I’m an athlete? Because I’m a ballet dancer? Or am I this way because I’m me? I feel like I’m good at compartmentalizing and being able to focus on the task at hand. I’ve had injuries throughout my career, and I’ve had to deal with outside noise. Specifically, as an athlete, we’re good at honing in on the job at hand and not letting those other things affect us.
How does that translate to parenting and balancing your personal wellness while taking care of a young child (Jackson, 3, with husband Olu Evans)?
When I think about health and wellness, it’s really an overall approach. It doesn’t have to be difficult. These things should fit easily into your routine. It’s not just like, ‘Oh, at this time I’m going to take all my vitamins.’ It’s, ‘How can this fit organically into my lifestyle?’ Even more so, having a child, I need to make things simple, basic and easy. This has been such a beautiful, natural partnership with Nature Made because they have the same mentality of a holistic approach. It’s not like vitamins or supplements are coming in to rescue you … it’s supporting the way you’re already living.
You’re on a committee for the Met Gala. What has that been like?
The arts are such an important part of my life, and having a relationship with the Met Museum, it was really meaningful to me. To me, it’s not just about this party that everyone wants to be at, but like, what is it that we’re really saying? How is it impacting our society and our communities? My son, like, lives at The Met. It’s an important part of our everyday existence, and what it means for him to walk into a space like the Met Museum and feel like he could see himself reflected in the art. It’s really powerful that they came to me in early stages to see it take shape, and just through my own experiences in terms of what it means to have a diverse body within the art form. It just makes sense, and I’m proud to be a part of this year.
The theme this year is costume art.
Yes, costume art, but really focusing on bodies and the range of bodies throughout history and how that’s influenced art, the art that you see, specifically with women as well.
You said “retirement” is not the right word. It’s just leaving ABT. What is next for you when it comes to your involvement with dance, either performing or on the back end?
Throughout my career, I’ve not only been on the stage as a performer, but also an advocate and a voice for change and diversity within the art form. I will forever be doing that work. I recently joined the board of American Ballet Theatre. I sit on the boards of Lincoln Center and of The Shed, and I have the Misty Copeland Foundation. We have three programs in the Bronx and Harlem that are about bringing dance to communities that wouldn’t have access or the opportunity to be a part of it. So that’s very much in my DNA, like dance will always be a part of it. It gave me every opportunity that I have, and it’s made me the person that I am today. Through my production company, we have a feature film and different animated series in the works, and I’m continuing to write books. I think I’m on my 11th book right now. But again, it’s all within the same theme and messaging, which is the importance of the arts and moving your body, health and wellness and giving back to the community.