“The systemic structure made to keep me in place, is the stage I dance on. Black and woman. Motherships my mother’s hips beheld deep space … ” begin the words of the Under Armour campaign starring Misty Copeland and Saul Williams. It is beauty personified.
As part of the “Unlike Any” campaign, in which athletes are paired with spoken-word artists, American Ballet Theatre principal ballerina Copeland and poet-actor Williams dazzle in a somber video with twisting camera angles, atop which Copeland dances.
The other videos in the campaign feature tae kwon do expert Zoe Zhang and Taiwanese artist Aristophanes; stuntwoman Jessie Graff and hip-hop artist Kojey Radical; long-distance runner Alison Désir; snowboarder Lindsey Vonn; and Olympic sprinter Natasha Hastings.
The entire series could be described as “the touch and taste of epiphany,” to use Williams’ words.
Speaking of, here’s Williams’ recent take on “diet.”