What a wild, crazy, eventful, exciting ride the past year has been for prima ballerina Misty Copeland-she herself describes 2015 as a "whirlwind" to Barbara Walters during Walters' annual special, Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2015. The crowning jewel for Copeland, of course, was being named as a principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre, but in addition to that, the ballerina made her Broadway debut in On the Town, filmed a documentary about her life and became the face of Under Armour. She has truly owned 2015, and she sat with Jimmy Kimmel on Monday to talk with host about her latest achievement, happening right in her hometown.
Copeland headed to Jimmy Kimmel Live! Monday night to talk about yet another honor she's receiving: A square in San Pedro, where the dancer is from, is being named after her. Included in the square is some artwork that shows off the town's level of pride in the talented ballerina. "They're painting this whole mural with, like, three massive Misties on the side of a building," she explained to Kimmel. The building in question is actually the San Pedro Ballet School, which is where Copeland got her start. The square and the paintings will be dedicated during a ceremony on Dec. 21.The ballerina actually just returned from Rwanda, where she was working with MindLeaps, which uses dance to help underprivileged children translate negative personality traits such as aggression into positive traits such as optimism and discipline. According to Copeland, after discovering MindLeaps three years ago, finally getting a chance to see the program in action was amazing. "There aren't many programs that reach out and restructure people's lives in Africa, and to be using the arts and dance, it sounded so interesting," Copeland explained. "Then to actually get to go and witness firsthand what they're doing to get these kids educated and fed and off the streets, it was remarkable."
Watch Copeland talk about the murals and what about them makes her cringe in the photo below, and catch the ABC News special, Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2015, on Thursday, Dec. 17 at 9:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
