Cindy Bradley, the first coach of the award-winning ballet dancer Misty Copeland, spoke to an English 1A class at El Camino College to discuss her career and how she met the 42-year-old dancer, mother and best-selling author.

Born and raised in Georgia, Bradley moved to the suburbs of Atlanta and began teaching ballet as early as eight years old. She has continued to lead the discipline to this day.

Some years after opening the San Pedro City Ballet theatre, Bradley discovered a 13-year-old Misty Copeland and realized the potential of a future prodigy in ballet.

“I just saw this light,” Bradley said. “Oh, my goodness. I knew it in that moment. I can’t explain it any better than that.”

Copeland received numerous awards and achievements, such as the National Youth of the Year Ambassador for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America in 2013 and the Dance Magazine Award in 2014.

In 2015, Copeland became part of the American Ballet Theatre studio company as the first female African American Principal Dancer in the company’s history.

Bradley also had a bout with Crohn’s disease but credits dance with helping her manage her health battle.

“I do believe in taking care of the body,” Bradley said.

When asked about techniques vital to Copeland’s success, Bradley conveyed the message of handling her fundamentals for life and not just the technical aspect of ballet dancing. In turn, Copeland also had an impact on Bradley.

Bradley said handling Copeland’s fundamentals for life and not just ballet dancing was a technique vital to Copeland’s success. In turn, Copeland had an impact on Bradley.

” It’s everything to me,” Bradley said. “[Copeland has] been an inspiration to me.”