For Copeland, who just starred in the company's production of "Swan Lake" at the Met, it represents the culmination of a longtime dream - one she's repeated "like a mantra," but wasn't sure she'd ever achieve.
The dancer describes herself as an "unlikely ballerina" (it's the subtitle of her 2014 memoir), and it's true: whatever your ballet stereotypes, it's likely Copeland doesn't fit them. Here's how she went from "pretty much homeless" to dance superstar.