You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day.

I'm your host, Elise Hugh.

Ballerina and activist Misty Copeland made history in 2015 as the first black woman to become the principal dancer at the American Ballet Theater.

And just last month, she gave her farewell performance with the company to a world that she helped

reshape. In her talk, she shares the story of what led her here, a story of persistence in spite of

constantly being told she didn't belong. Misty makes the case for why movement is crucial

and why she is proved that, as she says,

resilience can turn pain into beauty and beauty into legacy.

The first night I danced the Firebird at American Ballet Theater,

I wasn't yet a principal dancer.

I was still a soloist, 12 years into the company,

carrying the weight of roles I had dreamed of but not yet been given.

My body was in agony.

For weeks, I had ignored the deep aching pain in my leg,

convincing myself that it would somehow just go away.

But this wasn't just an opportunity for me. It felt bigger than that.

I was the first black woman to perform this role in ABT's history.

Dancing the Firebird for me was a chance to honor the generations of black dancers who came before me,

dancers who never made it to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House.

It was a chance to prove that future generations could stand on that stage,

and it could be theirs too.

I wasn't going to let Payne steal that.

...