Misty Copeland Receives Lincoln Center’s Inaugural Luminary Award

BusinessHollywood & EntertainmentMisty Copeland Receives Lincoln Center’s Inaugural Luminary AwardByJoshua Dudley,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about podcastsFollow AuthorJun 12, 2026, 05:40pm EDTJun 12, 2026, 05:42pm EDTBallet Legend Misty Copeland posing with Chief Curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem, Thelma GoldenJoshua DudleyNEW YORK — On June 1st, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts hosted their annual Summer Gala to kick off the summer, with a thoughtful evening of music by John Legend, support for the arts, and the presentation of the inaugural Luminary Award to ballet legend Misty Copeland.The event began with a red carpet party where members got to mingle with board members and featured guests like Misty Copeland who spent 25 years with the American Ballet Company as their very first female African-American dancer to be named a principle dancer, along the way she became a beloved cultural icon not only in New York City, but through multiple tv appearances and from writing many books she became America’s sweetheart as well and inspired young girls everywhere to follow their dreams.Honorees for the evning, Misty Copeland, and Andreas C. Dracopoulos pose with President Mariko Silver and Lincoln Center board membersJoshua DudleyFollowing the dinner was a performance in the Wu Tsai Theater, part of David Geffen Hall to award and honor Misty Copeland with their first ever Luminary Award that President and CEO of Lincoln Center Performing Arts Dr. Mariko Silver explained was to “honor artists who build community, open doors, and really help us to reimagine what's possible through their artistry.”MORE FOR YOUGrammy nominated singer Alice Smith began the evening with a performance of the song “I Put a Spell on You” that caused Misty Copeland to recount the next day on her Instagram account to say she almost fell out of her seat when she walked out. Following that were remarks by Dr. Marik...