Misty Copeland Recreates Degas' Ballerinas

Video by Sandy Chase. Photos by Ken Browar and Deborah Ory of the NYC Dance Project. [via Harper's Bazaar]

These photos will most definitely be clogging up your Pinterest feed in the coming days because, well, see for yourself! As the first African American principal dancer at New York's American Ballet Theatre (as if you didn't already know), Misty Copeland opens up to Harper's Bazaar in in the March edition while channeling iconic artwork by Edgar Degas ahead of an exhibit at MoMA.

What's so brilliant about the photo shoot isn't just Copeland's graceful posing or the couture costuming. It's the contrast between the most ubiquitous representation of ballerinas in the art world and Copeland herself, a ballerina who never should have "made it" according to all popular convention. Even more interesting is the fact that Degas was known not for depicting the glamour of stage productions, but for depicting the pain of training, a thread all too relevant to Copeland's narrative.

Of course, on the surface, you're still left with a stunning dancer, dazzling art, and costuming by the likes of McQueen and Valentino.

The March issue of Harper's Bazaar hits newsstands February 16.