Cindy Bradley remembers the first time she saw Misty Copeland.
The shy 13-year-old was sitting in the bleachers at the San Pedro Boys and Girls Clubs, watching as Bradley taught some beginning ballet moves.
Bradley approached her, asking if she’d like to join. It took some time to persuade her.
While Copeland, a student at Dana Junior High in San Pedro, didn’t have any dance training, she took to it naturally, Bradley said, mastering a forward toe pointe quickly and effortlessly.
It’s one of those moves, Bradley said Wednesday, Oct. 22, in a telephone interview, that is key to a future in ballet.
“It’s one of those steps — if it can be done perfectly — you can move into any other step easily,” she said.
From there, the rest was history for Copeland, who became one of the biggest names on the ballet stage. And on Wednesday, Copeland hung up her pointe shoes and retired after 25 years with the American Ballet Theatre. She joined the company as a teenager, eventually becoming the first Black female principal dancer in its 75-year history.
Bradley brought Copeland to the San Pedro ballet studio and school she operated with her husband, and Copeland quickly found her niche.
“We all knew there was something special about her,” said Becky Campbell, who, along with Copeland, was part of a tight-knit ballet class of eight that bonded tightly.
“We all grew up together,” said Campbell, who now lives in Atlanta and whose oldest daughter is also now in ballet classes.
“We didn’t have the maturity to imagine what a star she was going to be, but Cindy saw the vision,” Campbell said.
Bradley recalled watching Copeland, who was 4 feet, 10 inches tall and weighed 65 pounds, when she was just beginning.
Sitting at her feet as she instructed her in those early dance moves, Bradley said, “She looked 10 feet tall to me.”
“I knew she was going to be something very special,” said Bradley.
And through the years, Copeland became a modern-day legend in the port town where she got her start.
A mural in her honor graces the ballet studio building on Pacific Avenue, and her occasional hometown visits draw crowds of fans, including the young girls who aspire to follow in her footsteps.
“She’s a hometown hero,” Campbell said.
A large mural of ballet dancer Misty Copeland was unveiled to an audience of supporters and community members at the San Pedro City Ballet in San Pedro on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Mike Lansing, director of the San Pedro Boys and Girls Clubs at the time, recalled how the dance program got started when the Dana drill team, which Misty was a member of, was looking for a place to practice.
“We didn’t have a dance program, and these girls were pretty talented,” said Lansing, who is now retired. “So I reached out to Cindy.”
It was at that beginning ballet class where Bradley noticed Copeland.
“Cindy told me she’d spotted her up in the bleachers, and it took her a few weeks” of persuasion, Lansing said. “She wouldn’t come down.”
Copeland, he said, has had an impact on San Pedro — but more than that, she’s had a worldwide mission and influence.
“We gave her her start,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.