Misty Copeland, Ashley Murphy and Ebony Williams Cover Pointe Magazine

Dancers Misty Copeland, Ashley Murphy and Ebony Williams are on the cover of Pointe looking amazing for the magazine’s summer issue.

The trio represent the push to increase diversity in ballet, with Misty’s own Project Plié with the American Ballet Theatre to find more ballerinas of color and Brown Girls Do Ballet website and Instagram.

Copeland is the first black ballerina in the American Ballet Theatre in 20 years. A few years back, she toured with Prince and delivered a gorgeous “Beautiful Ones” duet. Recently she introduced an Under Armour exercise gear campaign that made us all want to do plié squats in the office and get our calves up to par.

If you’re unfamiliar with Ashley Murphy, the Shreveport, Louisiana native is part of the Dance Theater of Harlem. She joined the company in 2002 after programs at New York’s Joffrey Ballet School and The Ailey School.

As for Ebony Williams, you know her you probably just don’t realize it. Williams hails from Boston and joined New York’s Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet in 2005. She trained at the Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts and graduated from the Boston Conservatory with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She is also immortalized in Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” video as the third dancer next to Bey and my favorite Bey back-up dancer, Ashley Everett. You’re welcome.